


Good Life

by RavenT2



Series: Batman Beyond: Unpack Your Heart [3]
Category: Batman Beyond
Genre: Action, Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Batman Beyond: Unpack Your Heart, Drama, Drama & Romance, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family, Family Feels, Hurt/Comfort, Major Original Character(s), Minor Original Character(s), Original Character(s), Pregnancy, Revenge, Romance, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:01:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 36
Words: 85,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29369673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavenT2/pseuds/RavenT2
Summary: Sequel to "All This Time." Terry and Max learn that their family is about to get bigger. But just as everyone is looking toward the future, a nightmare from Basem's past returns and threatens all the Gotham Knights hold dear, including Gotham itself. Now, Terry must fight to maintain his family and save his city. 3rd story in the "Unpack Your Heart" trilogy.
Relationships: Chelsea Cunningham & Maxine Gibson & Terry McGinnis, Maxine Gibson & Sally Croft (OC), Maxine Gibson/Terry McGinnis, Sally Croft (OC)/Basem Asselah (OC), Terry McGinnis & Basem Asselah (OC), Terry McGinnis & Bruce Wayne, Terry McGinnis & Maxine Gibson & Basem Asselah (OC) & Sally Croft (OC)
Series: Batman Beyond: Unpack Your Heart [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2096112
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Welcome back all! Sorry this took so long to start. So, I originally began "Good Life" on 01/26/2017 and completed it on 05/23/2018. Title comes from the great song by OneRepublic. I hope you all enjoy! This is one of my crazier stories but I do love it! Originally, this was going to be the conclusion to the "Unpack Your Heart" series but... other ideas came to mind and we aren't done yet!
> 
> Enjoy "Good Life"!

** Chapter 1 **

One year had passed since Terry and Max’s wedding, and life for the Gotham Knights was going very well. True, the number of opponents hadn’t lessened and, at no point, did they take their jobs lightly, but they found that, as long as they kept their focus and remembered why they were fighting and who they were fighting for, they always made it through.

The biggest development that had taken place for the collective lives of the group was Mel and Eddy had a beautiful daughter, named Lita Marie Simmons.

Max sat in Mel’s house, playing with her three-month old niece, Lita. Max couldn’t get over how much Lita looked like her and Mel. Max was making Lita giggle by singing to her when Mel walked in.

Mel examined the sight of her baby sister playing with her daughter and she couldn’t stop smiling. “Hey!” Mel said.

Max looked up at Mel, “Hey. You’re back already? That was fast.”

“Fast? Max, I was gone an hour!”

Max looked at the clock. “Huh.” She looked back at Mel, “Guess I didn’t notice.”

Mel set her things down in the kitchen. She came back into the living room and sat in the easy chair, staring at her sister and daughter. “Max?”

“Yeah?” Max asked, still playing with Lita.

“Are you and Terry gonna have any kids?”

Max paused and looked up at Mel, “Uh…”

“It looks like you’d be great at it,” Mel shrugged.

“What, uh…” Max cleared throat. “What do you mean?”

“I mean… I was gone for an hour and you didn’t notice. I don’t even think Lita noticed and I’m her mother!”

Max smiled. “You know better than that.”

“Do I?” Mel looked at the still smiling Lita. “Do I, really?!”

Max realized Lita was still smiling and Max giggled. She looked back at Mel, “Okay, Okay. But… well, I don’t know about us having kids.”

“Why not?”

“We’ve… never really talked about it. I mean… not, like, in a lot of detail.”

“Again… why not?”

“We’re just so busy.”

“You guys don’t think that you can pull it off?” Mel asked.

Max opened her mouth then closed it. “I dunno. It’s just… with our lives, things are plenty crazy. Me trying to go back to school, both of us working with Wayne Enterprises. We’re just… a little too out of it, right now.”

Mel smiled. “Well, I still think it’s a good idea. I think you guys should talk about it. Besides, Lita needs a cousin.”

“Why don’t you and Eddy just have another kid?”

“Well, duh. But I want a nephew or niece that I can spoil the hell out of and send him or her back to you.” Mel smiled, smugly. “See? Everybody wins!”

Max rolled her eyes.

* * *

That night came with the Gotham Knights performing their usual vigilance. Nightrunner was on his airbike, patrolling the skies when Bruce contacted him.

“ _Runner,_ ” Bruce said.

“I’m here,” Nightrunner replied.

“ _Your father is calling you._ ”

“Can it wait?”

“ _No._ ”

“Okay.”

“ _You might wanna pull over for this one._ ”

Runner paused. “Bruce, what’s going on?”

“ _Just do it,_ ” Bruce ordered.

“Okay, okay,” Runner stopped the bike and landed on the closest roof. “Okay, I’m parked.”

“ _Patching him through._ ”

“Ibn _,_ ” Bilal said, a sad tone to his voice.

“Yes, _Babaan_?” Runner asked.

“ _There was an explosion at the Clairvaux Prison yesterday. Eight inmates lost their lives with 30 more injured._ ”

Runner paused for a minute. He let out a pained exhale. “What happened to Rene?”

Bilal was silent for a moment. “ _He… was among the confirmed dead._ ”

“How was it confirmed?”

“ _Blood and dental records._ ”

Runner interlocked his fingers and placed his hands behind his head.

“Ibn _. Ari wanted to speak with you. She wants to know if you’re okay._ ”

Runner thought for a minute then shook his head. “I can’t talk now. I need to process this.”

“ _It’s not just her. Hayate and Stephen are asking about you, too._ ”

“I’ll speak with them soon, I promise. Just not…” Runner sighed. “…not now.”

Bilal exhaled. “ _Alright,_ Ibn _. Be safe._ ”

“Yes, _Babaan_.”

“ _He’s off the line,_ ” Bruce said.

“Where’s Terry?”

“ _Northwest._ ”

Runner sighed. “I need some time.”

“ _Go ahead. I’ll have him to cover for you._ ”

“Thanks.” Runner ended the call. He looked around the city, focusing on the sea in the distance. He pressed his fingers to his mask, selecting another number.

“ _Hello?_ ” Sally’s voice came on the other side.

“Sally,” Runner said.

“ _Oh, hey, babe! I thought you were working._ ”

“I am. I was.”

She caught his tone. “ _Baby, what’s wrong?_ ”

“Rene Leblanc is dead.”

She stopped. “ _You mean… Marie’s brother?_ ”

“Yeah.”

She fell silent for a second. “ _Come on by. I’ll be up._ ”

“Thank you, Sally,” he said.

“ _You know better than that._ ”

“See you soon.” He paused. “I love you.”

“ _I love you, too, babe._ ”

Runner ended the call and stood, motionless. He stared at the night’s sky. “Rene. I’m so sorry.” He rubbed his head, got back on his airbike, and headed toward Sally’s.

* * *

As morning was approaching, Terry arrived at the Cave and met with Bruce. Terry walked over to the computer and leaned against it, facing the cave, while Bruce stared at the computer screen.

“So, he’s gone?” Terry asked, referring to Rene LeBlanc.

“That’s what the report said,” Bruce answered. “They had a full casualty list and the autopsy confirmed it.”

“What caused the explosion?”

“Attempted breakout. The League is handling it.”

They both remained still in the silence of the cave.

Terry kept his gaze toward the cave, “How do you think Basem’ll handle all this?”

“It’ll be rough,” Bruce admitted, leaning forward and interlocking his fingers.

“Well… it’s why we’re here: for the rough times.”

“Indeed. Speaking of rough times, how are you and Max?”

“What kind of God-awful transition was that?!”

Bruce smirked. “One that provided entertainment for me.”

“God, Bruce!” Terry groaned. “Watch a movie!”

“Boring. Human reactions are far more entertaining.”

Terry rolled his eyes. “And we’re fine. Thanks for asking, I guess.”

Bruce smiled. “Glad to hear it.”

“Sometimes, I wonder why I still put up with you.”

“You and me both.”

They stared at each other in silence then slowly began to laugh.

Terry sighed. “Well, I’m gonna head home. You need anything before I go?”

“No, thank you,” Bruce replied.

Terry pushed himself up and started to walk off to change. He stopped. “When I first stumbled in here seven years ago…” he turned around and looked at his mentor, “did you think it would be like this?”

“Absolutely not,” Bruce said. “For once… I’m glad I was wrong.”

* * *

**_Two Weeks Later._ **

Despite the death of Rene hanging over Basem’s head, it didn’t seem to be bothering Basem all that much and life seemed to retain the semblance of normality it always had. As close as it could, anyway.

Max and Sally were out shopping at the mall, going through the lingerie section of a department store.

Sally picked out a red bra, “What do you think?” She showed it to Max.

Max stared at it then smacked her lips. “I think I know wayyyy more about yours and B’s sex life than I really should. Too much. And, by that, I mean… ANY of it!”

“You don’t know anything,” Sally kept looking around.

“Sally, you practically reenacted the time you and him did it in a dressing room.” Max leaned closer to her and whispered, “In _this_ mall. In _this_ store!”

Sally thought about it. “You’re right.” She put the bra back. “Let’s go to Victoria’s Secret. I can get something new there. And show you the dressing room we did it in there, too.”

“How many times have you two done it? Exactly.”

“I dunno. How many times are we alone together?”

“Oh, please!” Max replied. “You’re not that promiscuous! You talk a big game but you’re a minor leaguer.”

Sally looked at Max, offended. “Well, forgive me for not being a mainstay in the all-star game like you!”

Max smiled and winked.

Sally shrugged, “And, okay, yeah. It’s not… that often we do, but… Basem’s so patient with me inconsistent ass that… well, hell, I like to please my man and… reward his patience.”

“With quickies in public places?”

“Why not? Plus, he’s super hot and sooooo good at it!”

Max shook her head, “Again, too much info.”

“You asked,” Sally reminded.

Max laughed at Sally then paused when she felt her stomach bothering her. She suddenly felt off balance and had to grab one of the clothing racks for support.

Sally looked Max over and grew concerned, “You okay?”

Max nodded, “Yeah, yeah. Just… whoa, I don’t know where they came from.”

“What are your symptoms?” Sally walked over and pressed her hand to Max’s forehead.

“I don’t know. Just… my stomach became a little uneasy. And… I got a little dizzy.”

“Huh.” Sally checked her pulse and started thinking this over. “Max, when did you last have your monthly visitor?”

“Oh, come on, Sal!” Max groaned.

“I’m serious.”

Max exhaled, trying to think back. “Uhh…” A realization hit her. “Now that you mention it… it’s… a little late.”

“How late?”

“Two weeks. Maybe three?”

“And when was the last time you and Terry… talked without… steps taken?”

“Uhh… about a month ago?”

Sally’s eyes widened.

Max’s eyes widened as she started breathing hard. “Oh, shit. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!” Her mind went into panic mode and she started shaking.

“Calm down, calm down!” Sally grabbed Max’s hand.

“But we haven’t talked about it! We haven’t planned for it! I’m still planning to go back to school!”

“Well, don’t lose it before you even know anything!”

“But… but what if I am?! How can we afford it!? How can we…”

Sally grabbed Max’s arms, “For God’s sake, woman, get a grip on yourself! Bruce Wayne’s your father-in-law! Money is your _last_ concern!”

Max caught herself. “Oh. Yeah. I… I kinda forgot that part.”

“So, one less thing to worry about.”

“I’m not worrying about anything until I know for sure.”

Sally stared at Max, indignantly. “Bull.”

Max conceded, “You’re right.”

“Well, let’s get outta here and get you a test.”

“I’m not sure if I wanna pass this test or not.”

“Well, I sure as hell want you to.”

“Why?”

“You and Terry with a kid?” Sally asked. “Do you know how awesome that’ll be?!”

Max exhaled. “I guess so.”

They left the mall and stopped at a drug store, where Sally picked up the best home pregnancy test she could find. They drove back to Max and Terry’s house and went inside.

Max took the box that contained the test and stared at it. She looked at Sally, “Hey, I’m gonna need to take the test by myself. Okay?”

“Of course,” Sally said.

“But… can you stay here… for the results?”

Sally smiled. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Max nodded and headed to her bedroom. She went in her bathroom and pulled out the instructions. She was trying to read the paper but two things were stopping her: she couldn’t focus on the words and her hands were shaking.

She took a few deep breaths, “Okay. Okay. Get a grip on yourself. Don’t panic until you take the test. Then panic.”

After taking the test, Max sat on her bed with her leg trembling. She wanted to call Melissa, but Sally being here helped and she wanted to be sure first before telling anyone else. Max’s phone beeped after the 90 second mark passed, signaling the test was ready. Her breath caught in her chest. She let out a deep exhale and went to the bathroom. She retrieved the test and looked at it.

A plus sign.

Her eyes widened.

She looked at the instructions and saw what plus meant.

Positive. Plus meant positive. Of course, it did. What else could plus mean besides positive?

She was positively having a baby.

Max backed away from the test and put her hands over her mouth. She started to cry. She looked down at her stomach. “If you really are in there, kid… you better get ready. You’re in for one wild ride.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: "Ibn": "son" in Arabic; "Babaan": "papa" in Arabic


	2. Chapter 2

** Chapter 2 **

Max walked into the living room where Sally was reading a magazine. Sally saw Max walk in, dropped the magazine, and jumped to her feet.

“Well?!” Sally asked, excitedly.

Max choked down the lump in her throat. “I’m pregnant.”

Sally stared at Max, her mouth falling open as she began to fully process that. “Are… you sure?”

“Sure as I can be.”

Sally blinked. “Oh, my God.”

Max took a deep breath, “Oh, my God.”

Sally smiled, “Somebody hold my skin, I need to jump out of it!”

“That a good or a bad thing?”

“It’s an AWESOME thing! Max, you’re gonna be a mom!”

Max walked over and sat down on the couch. “But… it’s so much. I mean… we’ve… we didn’t plan for this.”

Sally sobered at seeing Max’s mood. “Considering Terry’s life, I hardly doubt he plans to face metahuman gods but he manages. He’ll manage this, too.”

“I guess.”

Sally back down next to Max, “Okay, I need you to tell me why you’re not happy about this.”

Max shook her head, “I told you why. We haven’t really talked about it, me and Terry. I don’t even know if this is what he wants.”

“Wait, you were serious about that? You’ve gotta be kidding me!”

“No, I’m not. Sal… Terry’s Batman. Batman is a lonely life. The fact that we’re married and we’re a year in _and_ he doesn’t wanna leave me is a blessing.”

“Yeah, and what if rainbows were purple and they led to a field of unicorns instead of a pot of gold?”

Max looked at her. “What the heck was that?”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Sally replied. “I thought we were both staying stupid-as-hell things that didn’t make any damn sense. My bad.”

Max sighed.

“You can tell him and let him decide how he feels about it.”

“And what if he doesn’t want it?”

“Then you guys will talk about that, too,” Sally answered. “But this is Terry we’re talking about. The man who loves you and married you and would do anything for you.”

Max rolled her eyes, “Yeah, I know, I know. He’s the perfect guy who every girl wants.”

“You didn’t have to be _that_ sarcastic with it. Damn.”

“I know! Just… dammit, can’t he have more than… _three_ character flaws? It’s like he’s too perfect without being perfect sometimes!”

Sally giggled. “Well, to put your mind at ease, not _every_ girl wants him. I don’t.” She stopped. “All the time. I mean, not anymore. But… I had this one weird dream once before you and him were official that me and him were…”

Max rubbed her face, “Sally, shut the hell up.”

Sally smiled. “I’m just trying to get you to relax.”

“I know. But I can’t. Not yet.”

Sally stopped. “You know what? We’ve talked about how Terry will react but… what about _you?_ ”

“What about me?” Max asked.

“Uhhhhh, you’re _carrying_ the kid? How do you feel about it? And I mean how do _you_ feel? Not in terms of Terry, but in terms of being a mother and this being your kid.”

Max stopped and stared at Sally. She hadn’t really thought about it yet. She hadn’t given herself a chance to. “I… I…” The more Max did think about it, however, the quicker the answer came to her. She exhaled. “I really want this kid.”

Sally smiled.

A single tear worked its way down Max’s cheek. “I think that’s why I’m terrified. I want a family. Like… you have no idea how much. I want to raise a family. Get it all right, you know? Get right what my folks got wrong. And… so much… I want to have Terry’s baby. I know he’d be a great father and… I would love to have a family with him. That’s what I want. And… well… what if Terry doesn’t want one?”

Sally stared at her, indignantly. “You can’t convince me the conversation has never come up.”

Max started to fidget with her fingers, “I mean… like… not in detail to the point where we said ‘yeah, let’s have one.’”

“But what has he said when it did come up?”

“He… thinks it would be schway to have a kid with me.”

“THEN WHY ARE YOU FREAKING OUT?!” Sally screamed, impatiently.

“Because what if he was just saying that?!” Max argued. “I mean, he said it! Doesn’t mean we planned on it!”

Sally grabbed Max’s shoulders and turned Max’s face toward her, “Woman! Didn’t he tell you he was Batman?!”

Max looked away, “Well, I kinda figured it out first but…”

“And did he send you off to a country without WiFi, electricity, or running water, which is what I’m assuming Bruce used to do to people who found out?”

Max stopped. “Actually… well… no.”

“Okay,” Sally said. “So, you already have Terry’s biggest secret! The thing that, if other people knew, he would be dodging gunfire at a drive-thru… and you’re nervous about telling him, your _husband_ , you’re going to have his CHILD?! Does ANY of this MAKE SENSE TO YOU?!”

“Will ya gimme a break?!” Max screamed. “I’m new at this! This has never happened to me before!”

Sally released Max’s shoulders, “I don’t care! You’re stressing yourself over something you don’t need to worry about!”

“I don’t know that! What if he’s… not ready?!”

“You’re gonna make me smack you! Do you think he was ready to fight Ket when he showed up and tried to kill us?! No! But he stepped the hell up! Probably would’ve beat his ass, too, if Basem hadn’t gotten there! Terry will adjust.”

Max looked down, conceding that Sally may be right.

Sally calmed down and smiled. “Okay, so, do me a favor: for a minute, just _one_ minute, can we please pretend that all is well, so we can be happy you’re gonna be a mom?!”

Max slowly let go of her worry and smiled. “I’m gonna be a mom.”

Sally screamed with joy, “YEAH, YOU ARE!”

They laughed and hugged each other, and Max let herself be happy about the fact that she was going to have a baby.

* * *

That night, Max made dinner for herself and Terry and she was cooking his favorite: grilled chicken Alfredo. She was trying to make sure she making everything perfect and not panicking, but that was hard to do. This was going to be quite the bombshell she was going to drop on her husband.

She completed one part of cooking her meal and looked at her stomach. “Do you know how crazy this is gonna be? And it’s all your fault! Yes, you, in there! I hope you know that, at some point in your life, you owe nine months of rent!”

She sighed and rubbed her head. “Great. Just great. I’m yelling at my kid and you’re not even here yet. What a way to start off parenthood.” She stared at her stomach again. “Sorry, kid. I’m freaking out. But I hope you know that’s because I want you here. And every day, whether you want to hear it or not, I’m gonna tell you how much I want you here.” She started to tear up, “Oh, my God, I love you, already. How crazy is that?” She sighed. “Don’t answer that. Let’s finish dinner and worry about your daddy.” Her eyes widened. “Holy crap, I can’t believe I just said that out loud.”

She rubbed her belly. “I hope you like the sound of that.” She sighed. “I hope _he_ likes the sound of that.”

* * *

Terry arrived home an hour later, exhaling as he walked in. “Hey, Max!”

Max ran around the corner, smiling. “Hey! Hey! Hi! Hi, Terry! Hi. How was your day? Hi.”

He stared at her, confused. “Uhhhh, good. How was yours?”

“Great! It was great! The day was great!”

“Uh-huh,” he said, suspiciously. He walked up to her and kissed her. “You okay?”

“Yeah!” she answered. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“No reason.” He sniffed her breath.

“What are you doing?”

“Huh. No alcohol.”

She swatted his chest.

He smiled. “Sorry. Thought you might have… dipped into something.”

“Very funny.”

“So, why so happy?”

She took a breath, almost telling him, but stopped herself. “Oh. No reason.”

“Hm.” He started to smell something from the kitchen. “Is that… chicken alfredo?”

“Yeah.”

He looked at her, suspiciously. “What did you do?”

“What the hell kind of question is that?” she asked.

“You’re happy to see me _and_ you make my favorite?” He dramatically threw a finger in the air, “What witchcraft is _this_ , demoness?!”

“Keep that up and I’ll make you have dinner with Bruce for the next week.”

He chuckled. “Kidding. It smells great.”

“Good. It should be ready soon.”

They ate dinner as peacefully as they had since being married; making small talk about the day in the nook in the kitchen. It was close and they enjoyed the intimacy it provided. Terry was in the middle of talking about his day at Wayne Enterprises, and, while she was listening, Max was struggling with the best way to break the news to him. While Terry had been given the night off, Max knew he could be called into his duties as being Batman at any given moment. And it always seemed to happen after the sun had gone down. Given that it was 8:30 already, that, theoretically, gave her a very limited time frame.

But Max wasn’t sure how she should tell Terry. She’d been going over it in her head all day but every scenario didn’t feel right. And, while she was ecstatic about the baby, she still worried he wouldn’t want it. And how would she react to that?

Would they argue?

Would he insist that she get rid of it?

Would this end everything between them?

The thought of how wrong this could go made her start to have chills and perspire.

Terry was in the middle of speaking he noticed that Max sweating. He started to worry. “Max?”

With a gasp, she jumped a bit and looked at him.

“Babe, what’s wrong?”

She blinked, coming out of her headspace. “Huh?”

“You’re sweating. What’s going on?”

She set her fork down. “Uhh… it’s uh…” She sighed. She’d already called too much attention to herself and no other excuse would sate him at this point. She needed to come clean and now was as good a time as any. “I, uh, I need to tell you something.”

That didn’t relax him anymore. “Okay,” he said, nervously.

“But, first, I need…” She stared at him. “Terry, tell me you love me.”

“What?”

“Please.”

“Max, of course, I love you. What’s…”

“Tell me you love me, no matter what,” she pleaded.

“Yeah, Max,” he confirmed. “I love you, no matter what. Why are…”

“I mean… if something happened that… could be a good thing… but it’s a really scary thing… could I tell you?”

“You’re _freaking_ me out! Just tell me what’s going on!”

She took hold of Terry’s hand, bit her bottom lip, and whispered, “I’m pregnant.”

All of the air was stolen from Terry at that moment. He stared at Max in silence for a long time, as his brain processed what he just heard. He leaned back. “Pregnant?”

Tears forming in her eyes, Max nodded, “Yeah.”

Terry looked around in shock then slowly smiled. He pointed at himself as his voice caught, “I’m gonna be a dad?”

She nodded again.

He leaned forward and chuckled. Tears started forming in his eyes. He whispered, “I’m gonna be a dad.”

Max looked up, surprised.

Terry laughed, “I’m gonna be a dad!” He laughed again and hopped out of his chair. He started pacing, “Oh, my God! I’m gonna be a dad! I know I’ve said that four times but… I’m gonna be a dad!” He cheered and threw a fist in the air. “YES!” He paced some more, “Oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God! This is so great! This is… this is _great!_ ” He chuckled. “Wait ‘til I tell my mom this news! Basem, Bruce! Hell, I’m telling _everybody!_ ”

She breathed a sigh of relief, almost kicking herself for her initial fear. “You’re not mad.”

He stopped and looked at her, confused. “Mad? What… why the hell would I be mad at that? Max, this is great news!”

She started to fidget with her fingers. “Well… I know we’ve talked about it but we never planned for this.”

“Yeah, and?”

“And I thought that… you wouldn’t… want to…”

He jerked his head back. “What would _ever_ make you think that?”

“Our individual family history. Being Batman. Having a kid.”

He understood that, better than anyone. “Yeah. Yeah, I get that. But…” He walked over and got on one knee in front of her and took her hand. “Max, I love you. I want to have a family with you. I know it won’t be easy and we’ve had problems in that area growing up, but I can handle it.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, but here’s my question: do _you_ want to? Is this what _you_ want? This isn’t _my_ baby, it’s _ours_. Do you want this?”

She stared at him, falling in love with him all over again. “You have no idea how much I want this.”

He smiled.

“Every day I spend with Lita… I just imagined us having one. When I found out I was… I wanted this. I want to be a mom. I want to have a baby. I want to build a family with you. This is what I want.”

“And you know how much I love you. We can handle this, as long as we’re in this together. Are we?”

“Always,” she declared.

“Then what’s to worry about?” he asked.

She smiled, finally feeling all the tension drop off her like a boulder that was tied to her back. “Oh, my God! Oh, my _God_! Terry! We’re gonna have a baby!”

“Yeah, we are!”

She jumped on him, wrapping her arms around his neck, both of them laughing all the while. The last of her fear melted away and happiness filled her heart. Exciting anticipation of the future came over them both. It wouldn’t be easy, they knew that, but it was a trial they wanted. They already knew the reward would be worth it.


	3. Chapter 3

** Chapter 3 **

That night, Max was getting ready for bed, while Terry just stood at the door to the bathroom and watched her. She smiled at him and he smiled right back.

“Can you believe this?” Max asked. “We’re gonna be parents!”

Terry chuckled and shook his head. He groaned, leaned his back against the door frame, and threw his head back, “It’s so crazy.”

She giggled. “So, how are we going to tell everyone?”

“I don’t know.” He paused and looked at her. “But I need to talk to Bruce alone.”

She stopped and looked at him through the mirror, “Because of…”

“Yeah.”

She turned around and folded her arms underneath her chest. “Terry, does he know… about you and him? And… more to the point, does he know that you know?”

“I don’t think he does. I never told him and, if he does know, he’s never talked to me about it.”

“How do you think he’ll take it?”

He took a deep breath and exhaled. “That’s the big question.”

“You think he’ll be okay?”

He sighed. “I dunno.” He walked back into the bedroom, walking around the bed toward the window. Max walked in and sat on the bed. Terry stared at the night’s sky and rubbed the back of his head, “I mean, it’s one thing to tell him. It’s another to tell him _this_. God! How do you tell a man you’re his son and he’s about to be a grandfather?”

Max sat in silence for a few seconds, watching Terry stare out of the window. “Go tell him.”

He looked at her in confusion. “What? Now?”

“Yes. Now. Eventually, he’s gonna know I’m pregnant and he won’t ever say anything because he doesn’t want to hurt you or me. And you know Bruce: he’ll get distant and closed off.” She thought about that statement. “ _More_ than usual, if that’s possible.”

“It’s Bruce. It’s possible.”

“Exactly. Go tell him. Right now.”

He smiled and walked over to her. “I don’t feel like leaving you right now.”

“We have the rest of our lives to spend together,” she reminded. “You need to tell your biological father and the man who’s been a father to us he’s about to have a grandchild.”

He chuckled. “What if he reacts wrong?”

“I asked that exact question, word for word almost, when it came to you. You and him really are a lot alike.”

“Too much.”

“Nah. I’d say just enough.”

He smiled. “You’re the best.”

“Says so on my birth certificate,” she declared.

“No, it doesn’t. Bruce checked.”

She giggled. “I’ll bet he did.”

* * *

Terry arrived at Wayne Manor and went into the Batcave, standing at the stairs and staring it all. As always, Bruce was sitting at the computer, monitoring the city and the progress of Nightrunner. Terry approached Bruce but started to worry. Terry didn’t know what to really say or how to truly initiate this conversation.

Over the years, Terry and Bruce had gotten closer as friends and, as everyone pointed out and they finally accepted, even as father and son. But there were still things they didn’t talk about. When Bruce was sick months ago due to a severe liver infection, Terry offered to help with a blood transfusion; Max, Basem, and Sally had all gotten themselves tested, just in case. Before the blood could be delivered, they learned there was a donor already prepared to do so.

But Terry was pulled aside by the doctor with the results of his blood sample in comparison. Terry couldn’t believe it.

He was a perfect match to Bruce’s blood. Perfect.

Terry kept the results among himself, Max, Basem, and Sally and had another test done by a member of the Justice League, Dr. Mid-Nite.

No margin error.

Terry is Bruce’s son.

Terry even confirmed it with Amanda Waller.

Terry still found it hard to believe. He’d never told Bruce but now, there was no getting around it. Bruce had to know. Bruce deserved to know.

Bruce looked over at Terry. “Are you ever going to come in?”

Terry blinked back to the present. “Uh, yeah. Sorry.” He walked in and went over to the computer, still unsure how to approach this.

Bruce stared at Terry, curiously. “Terry, is something wrong?”

“No, no. Just… uh… I have to tell you something.”

Bruce turned, fully, toward him, “Alright.”

Terry took a deep breath and exhaled. “Bruce, Max is pregnant.”

Slowly, Bruce’s eyes widened at hearing that word. “Pregnant?” he asked, with stunned breath.

“Yeah,” Terry answered.

Bruce let out another breath then smiled. He stared at his protégé. “Congratulations.”

Terry smiled. “Thanks.”

Bruce held his smile for another few seconds then it slowly faded. He opened his mouth but something stopped him from speaking. Bruce couldn’t believe what was stopping him.

Fear.

He had to tell his greatest secret. And he had to tell Terry. But fear of what that would do to their relationship was causing him to pause. Bruce couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t believe that he was afraid of anything anymore.

But now was not the time or the place. Terry was about to be a father and, to do that, he deserved the truth. It was something had earned a long time ago.

Bruce exhaled and decided to let the chips fall where they may. “Terry… there’s…” He took another breath. “…there’s something I need to tell you.”

Terry looked down then back at Bruce, “I already know, Bruce.”

“No, you don’t it. It’s…”

“Bruce.”

Bruce gazed into Terry’s eyes.

“I know.”

Bruce blinked in surprise. He completely understood what that meant. “How…”

“I talked with Amanda Waller,” Terry answered. “Remember when you needed a blood transfusion last year?”

Bruce closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I… didn’t know you’d…”

“Yeah, we all got tested to see if we could donate until they found that donor. I was going to tell you until I had a look at the lab results.”

“And you weren’t angry with me?”

“For a second, I was,” Terry admitted. “But… I actually thought about it before I flew off the handle. Giving that method of living a try. Well, _too_ far off the handle. Max was a help there, like always. Once I thought it over, I realized something: you’re not as controlling of everyone as everyone thinks you are. Hell, not even as much as _you_ think you are.”

Bruce scoffed. “So, you spoke with Waller?”

“She was pretty sweet, actually.”

“Old age has mellowed her out.”

“Why didn’t that work on you?”

“I’m more stubborn than she is.”

Terry chuckled then sighed. “I just want to ask: you knew but… why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“Out of respect for Warren,” Bruce answered.

“My dad?”

Bruce nodded. “He raised you. He was your father. Not me. I didn’t want your memory of him tainted by Waller’s nonsense and meddling in my life, your parents’ lives, and yours.”

Terry nodded, understandingly. “Well… don’t worry about that. I’ve got great memories of my dad. Warren was one of the greatest. But, you know something: Bruce Wayne isn’t half bad either.”

“Terry…”

“Don’t act surprised, Bruce. Everyone’s right. Whether you intended to be or not, you’re my dad, too. Have been for a long time.”

“It’s an honor for me.”

“Right back at you.”

Bruce nodded. “No expense will be spared for Max’s care. You tell me every doctor visit she needs and I’ll make the arrangements. We’ll get her to the best doctors in Gotham. We’ll fly some in, if need be. If anything else is needed, just tell me. If you need a driver, a chef, someone to clean the house, you tell me and it will happen, Terry. I promise you.”

Terry smiled.

“Have you told Basem yet?”

“Not yet. Haven’t seen him.”

“Be sure to tell him.”

“Right.” Terry stopped. “I think we had this conversation before, when I proposed to Max.”

“We have,” Bruce replied. “Why do you tell me these things first?”

“Force of habit. You’re gonna find out anyway.”

Bruce chuckled. “By the way, Max will make a great mother and you’re going to be an amazing father.”

“Thanks for that, Bruce. I… may need some help with that.”

Bruce took a deep breath, “I don’t know how much of a help I’ll be with that, but… I’ll do the best I can.”

“That’s all I ask.” Terry headed for the stairs, “See you later, Bruce.”

“Good evening, Terry. Congratulations again.”

“Thanks.”

* * *

Basem arrived at Terry’s house just after 4 AM. Basem didn’t want to knock and wake up Max, so he called Terry when he was outside.

Terry opened the door and smiled. “Hey, brother.”

Basem breathed a sigh of relief. “Man. Don’t do that! I was panicking all night!”

“I called you an hour ago.”

“I know!” Basem walked in and Terry closed the door behind him. “And I packed a night’s worth of panic into an hour!”

Terry chuckled.

“So, what’s up? What’d you wanna tell me?”

Terry rubbed his hands together and took a breath. “Max is pregnant.”

Basem’s mouth slowly fell open and his eyes grew wide. “Wh… wh…”

“She’s pregnant.”

Basem walked into the house and sat down on the couch. He blinked a few times. “ _Mon Dieu._ ”

“I know!” Terry sat down.

Basem shook his head, “This is the best news I’ve heard since… since you two got engaged.”

“Pretty insane, right?!”

“Holy shit. Yeah, it is.” Basem sat back. “Hey, how does Max feel about all this?”

“She wants to be a mom.”

“She’d be a damn good one.”

Terry leaned back. “And how do you think I’d do?”

“You? You’re horrible! Poor kid’s gonna have a complex.” Basem smiled.

Terry narrowed his eyes at him.

“I’m joking.”

Terry smiled and leaned back, staring at the ceiling.

“Nervous?” Basem asked.

“Damn right, I am.”

Basem nodded. “I don’t blame you.” He sat for a second. “You tell Bruce?”

“Yeah.”

“Does he know about…”

“I told him.”

“How’d he take it?”

“He was surprised. Like we all were.”

Basem scoffed. “I know, right? Bruce Wayne is your biological father.”

Terry smiled. “I have him and I had my dad.” He thought about it. “My kid will get the best of all those worlds.”

“Damn right, he will.”

“Or she.”

Basem shrugged, “I want you to have a boy.”

Terry laughed.

Basem stood up, “Well, I’ll let you get some sleep.”

Terry got on his feet, groaning, “I hardly sleep anymore.”

“You should. With a baby coming.”

Terry shrugged, “Advantage of being Batman for years. I’m used to late hours.”

Basem chuckled. He looked Terry over then rushed forward to hug him, causing Terry to laugh.

Basem let him go. “Yeah, that was weird.”

“Not the first time you’ve hugged me over good news,” Terry reminded.

Basem shrugged. He went to the door and stopped at it. He looked at Terry. “You know, my father always said that Bruce’s greatest downfall… was that he never made time for family. You changed that. And you lived better. Be proud of yourself, Terry.”

Terry smiled. “Thanks, brother.”

Basem nodded. “If you need time, Nightrunner can put in extra hours.”

“But Basem Asselah has a life, a _love_ life.”

“With a woman who understands both lives. We’ll manage.”

Terry smirked. “I heard. So, you like getting it on in dressing rooms, huh?”

Basem smirked back. “You and Max were in the Manor. Want me to tell Bruce?”

“Pretty sure he already knows about that… and the times after that but keep your mouth shut.”

“Only if you do.”

Terry stared at Basem. “You know I can’t promise that.”

Basem rolled his eyes. “Go to bed, Terry. Get some rest now. You won’t be getting much from here on out.”

“I’m Batman, B. Sleep’s an old custom.”

Basem chuckled. “Tell me about it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm going to post the "Unpack Your Heart Chronicles" as soon as I can and one of the stories will include my take on how the family learns about Terry and Bruce's relations. I'll hopefully have it up soon.


	4. Chapter 4

** Chapter 4 **

**_Three Days Later._ **

Terry and Max were hosting a party at their house to tell everyone about the pregnancy. Basem and Sally were helping set up as they waited for Chelsea, Mel, Eddy, and Lisa to show up.

Max was setting bowls of food down, but she kept moving them. Sally watched for a few seconds, followed by Terry and Basem.

Sally noticed the men being quiet. “Oh. Okay, you guys are confused, too. I’ll ask.” She looked at her best friend. “Max. Sweetie.”

“What?” Max asked, never looking up.

“Are you okay?”

“Huh?” Max looked at all three of them. “What? I’m fine.”

“Max.” Terry walked up to Max and rubbed her arm. “It’s gonna be okay.”

“Gonna be okay.” Max nodded. “Right. I know! I know! But… I’m freaking!”

“Okay, I’m so confused,” Basem said.

“Me, too, babe,” Sally agreed.

“Guys!” Max shouted. “I’m _pregnant_! Get it?! Preeeeegnant! More to the point, _I’m_ pregnant!”

“Two different inflections,” Basem noted.

“It’s like she’s trying to tell us something, I just know it,” Sally added.

Terry smiled. “I get it.”

“You better! Hell, you married her!”

Terry put his hands on Max’s arms and guided her to the couch, “Max, sit down.”

“I can’t!”

He slowly sat her down.

“We have stuff to put out and…”

“We have time,” Terry interrupted. “It’s gonna be okay.” He smiled and took hold of Max’s hands. “Look at me.”

She looked at him.

“Talk.”

Max shook her head. “Terry… I don’t know a thing about good parents except for what I’ve seen from your mom… and, of all people, Bruce Wayne. I know we’ve made that joke for years, but it’s true.”

Terry rubbed the back of her hands.

“Terry. How’s everyone gonna react? What if they think this is a horrible thing we’re gonna try?”

Suddenly, Sally sneezed, very loudly, causing everyone to look at her.

Sally looked at them all, “Oh, sorry. I’m allergic to bullshit.”

Max rolled her eyes while Basem laughed. Terry just smiled.

“Not funny,” Max said.

“Who’s trying to be funny?” Sally asked. “Max. You’re being the stupidest you’ve ever been and I’m including that time you were worried Terry would regret marrying you.”

Terry shook his head and looked at Sally, “I’m sorry, what?”

“The point is!” Sally sat down next to Max. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

“Well…” Max looked away, shyly. “I just… this is big news! I mean, BIG! This is Terry-asking-me-to-marry-him big! This is…” she motioned toward herself and Sally, “us-learning-Batman-and-Nightrunner’s-identities big! THIS IS GETTING ADMITTED TO THE JUSTICE LEAGUE BIG!”

“Okay, okay!” Terry rubbed her arm.

“Yeah, that might not be something you wanna yell, Max,” Sally pointed out.

Max sighed. “Sorry.” She rubbed her head. “Just… this is big.”

Slowly, the realization hit the three of them all over again.

Sally stared into nothing. “You know what? Yeah. She’s right. This _is_ big.”

“Really big,” Basem said.

“Wow,” Terry exhaled. “This is. This is… me-finding-the-cave big.”

“Finding-my-dad’s-old-mask big,” Basem added.

“Seriously, undeniably big!” Sally said. “And I don’t just mean Basem’s…”

“Sally!” Terry and Max shouted.

Basem just smiled and blushed.

Terry looked back at Max. “Yes. It’s big. This is all a really big deal. But remember how everyone reacted when they heard we were getting married? How happy they were? Everyone was happy for us, Max. Everyone.”

Slowly, a smile crept across Max’s face. “They were, weren’t they?”

“Yeah. They were. And they will be today.”

“No doubt about that,” Basem smiled.

Max looked at them all and took a deep breath. She couldn’t help but feel a bit ridiculous. This was a great thing, amazing news. One of the best things that had ever happened to her. “I really am being stupid.”

“Told you so,” Sally said.

“Sal…” Terry and Basem said, exasperated.

“Sorry!”

“No, she’s right,” Max said. “I can’t believe I’m acting like this. Think it’s the hormones?”

“You’re like, what?” Sally asked. “Three weeks pregnant, if that? I sincerely doubt it. You’re just being weird.”

Max smiled. “Mind reminding me when I act stupid not to?”

Sally smiled. “What else am I here for?”

* * *

Mel and Eddy arrived first with their daughter, Lita, in tow. Chelsea showed up a few minutes later followed by Lisa. They all sat around and made small talk for a while with Terry quietly setting up a video call to his mother and Matty. After getting hold of his family in Central City, Terry brought his tablet to the living room.

Lisa looked up first and saw Terry approach. She took notice of Mary and Matty on the tablet screen. “Oh, Mary! Hi!”

Mary smiled, “ _Hi, Lisa! How are you?_ ”

“Doing well, doing well.” Lisa leaned her head to the side. She looked at her son-in-law, “Terry, what is going on?”

Terry smiled and set the tablet up where it was close enough where his family could see everything. “Mom, can you guys hear fine?”

“ _Yes,_ ” Mary replied. “ _What is actually going on?_ ”

Terry looked at Max, “You wanna say?”

Max nodded, “Yeah.” She took a deep breath and exhaled. “Well, we wanted to tell you all something. And we wanted to tell you all at the same time. Like… just tell you all together. Not drag it out or anything.”

“Kinda like you’re doing _now?!_ ” Sally asked, irritated.

“Will you _shut up?!_ ” Max growled.

“Get on with it, already!”

“Shut up!” Max said, gritting her teeth. She calmed down and took another breath. “So, cutting to the chase…” she stopped then shrugged, “I’m pregnant.”

Those words were absorbed by everyone, taking a few seconds. Slowly, all of their eyes became wide. Being the first to break the silence, Lisa took a deep breath and started screaming with joy.

“ _I’M GONNA BE AN UNCLE!_ ” Matty screamed over the video feed. He started running around the house. Mary started crying and couldn’t even get a word out while Matty kept celebrating.

“Oh, my God,” Mel started crying.

“Wow…” Eddy said, falling back against the couch.

“Pregnant,” Chelsea said. “A baby.” She stood up and started to pace, “Like… a baby baby. Like you’re gonna have another human being?”

“That’s what pregnant means, Chels,” Terry laughed.

“She asked a good question,” Sally said.

“How was that a ‘good’ question?” Max asked.

“Anyone going to notice that both mothers are still crying?” Basem asked.

Terry and Max looked at Lisa then looked at the video and saw Mary crying while Matty was celebrating behind her.

“Mom?” Terry asked.

Mary looked, sniffling and wiping her eyes. “ _I’m so happy for you both._ ”

Lisa fanned her face with her hands, “Same.”

Mel let out a long exhale, “Okay, okay. Wow. Umm… so, what are we doing now? Are we like… buying clothes? Diapers? A summer home in Metropolis! I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about! This is BIG!”

Terry, Max, Basem, and Sally erupted into laughter.

Max smiled at her sister, “That’s the same thing we said.”

Matty calmed down and came back to the camera, “ _So, like, I mean, what happens now?_ ”

“Well…” Terry started to say.

“ _I want a nephew!_ ”

Everyone laughed at that.

“You gotta 50/50 chance at that, Matty,” Max said.

Matty rolled his eyes, “ _Tsk! Whatever. I just want a nephew._ ”

“Well, we have one for the ‘boy’ camp,” Terry said. “Anyone else?”

“ _I just want a grandbaby,_ ” Mary said.

“Me, too!” Lisa said.

“Uh, mom?” Mel asked. “You’ve got one!” She motioned toward baby Lita.

Lisa looked at Mel, raising her eyebrow. “Whom I love unconditionally. But that’s only one. That’s hardly enough.”

“ _And this will be my first one,_ ” Mary said. “ _I will spoil him or her as much as possible!_ ”

“ _HIM!_ ” Matty screamed.

“Matty!” Terry said. “Shouting out the gender won’t make it that gender!”

Matty stared at Terry. “ _I can try._ ”

Not one person could stop themselves from laughing.

* * *

The party went on and lasted until the evening with everyone making their own plans for the baby. After everyone had gone, Terry and Basem were cleaning up while Sally and Max sat in the living room. Once they were done, Terry sat down next to Max on the couch while Basem sat on the arm of the easy chair that Sally was sitting in.

“Well, that went well,” Basem smiled.

“Gee,” Sally said. “You’re right, babe. Almost like we had nothing to worry about to begin with.”

Max rolled her eyes, “Alright, alright! You were right!”

“Thank you!”

Basem folded his arms, “So, Max, not to… bring up a bad thing but…”

Max stared at Basem.

“How are you gonna… ya know… tell your dad?”

Max took a deep breath. “He said he’ll be in Gotham soon. I’ll tell him then. It has to be face-to-face.”

“Agreed,” Basem nodded.

“He’s the only one I’m worried about,” Sally said. “Don’t get me wrong. I know you guys are getting close again but…”

Max exhaled, “Believe me. I know.”

Terry’s phone rang. He answered it, “Hello?”

“ _You and Basem are needed,_ ” Bruce said. “ _There’s a bank robbery in progress downtown._ ”

“On our way.” Terry ended the call and looked at Basem, “We got work to do.”

Basem nodded.

Terry kissed Max, “See you later.”

Basem kissed Sally, “Wanna go eat afterward?”

“Sure,” Sally smiled.

Terry and Basem headed out.

* * *

From the Batmobile and Nightbike, respectively, Batman and Nightrunner arrived at the main office of Gotham First National Bank. They saw a hole blown into the side of the building and a large truck parked near the hole. They descended from their vehicles and took out a couple of men guarding the truck. They went inside and found no less than half a dozen thieves in combat gear taking money out of the vault.

“That’s different,” Batman whispered.

“Plan?” Runner asked.

Batman looked around. He saw the bank guards were tied up in a corner, away from the vault. “No civilians. Keep ‘em away from the guards. Let’s take ‘em down.”

They threw gas balls in the midst of the thieves, which exploded after bouncing a couple of times. Batman and Nightrunner rushed in and started attacking the thieves with everything they had. One of the robbers hit a button on the mask she was wearing, pinpointed Batman, and opened fire. Batman dodged the gunfire by a cable into the ceiling and zip-lining out of the line of fire. The thief grabbed a bag of money and ran for the truck. Batman and Runner finished off the rest of the thieves and gave chase.

The thief got in the driver’s seat of the truck, pulled off her helmet, and floored it. Batman fired a cable on to the truck and hung on as it took off. Runner chased after the truck on foot, putting his parkour skills and suit’s enhancements to the test. They followed the truck down the street and on to the highway. Runner managed to land on top of the truck and made his way to the cab. The thief saw Runner in her rearview mirror, grabbed her gun, leaned out of the window and opened fire. Runner dodged the blasts, but this gave Batman the chance to swing around far enough to crash into the passenger side door and knock the thief unconscious.

Batman, however, didn’t realize the truck was heading straight into the concrete barricades. He hit the brakes but it wasn’t soon enough as the truck smashed right through the concrete, sending it over the edge of the highway to the street and buildings below. Batman grabbed the thief and got her and himself out of the cab of the truck. Runner had already jumped off and fired a cable, piercing the hull of the truck, in a desperate attempt to hold the truck and keep it from hitting anything below. Batman landed back on the highway with the thief, setting her down on the ground. Batman rushed over next to Runner and fired another cable to hold the truck, as well.

“This was a horrible idea!” Runner shouted.

“Tell me something I don’t know!” Batman replied, straining to stay in place.

“We need a plan!”

“Working on it!” Batman hit a button on his utility belt, summoning the Batmobile.

After a minute, which felt like hours to the heroes, the Batmobile arrived in the sky. Batman activated the wenches by remote, which fired from the vehicle and caught the truck, taking the pressure off of the Gotham knights. Relieved, they let go, and Batman had the Batmobile pull the truck back up to the highway.

Batman and Runner looked at each other and exhaled before erupting into laughter.

“Think we need to hit the gym some more?” Runner asked.

Batman chuckled. “We better. If something like a speeding truck can slow us down, we’re outta shape.”

* * *

**_Sochi, Russia._ **

Tumulus sat in the abandoned apartment complex, reading news articles from Gotham City and watching the news program from Gotham.

“ _And latest information from Gotham tonight about our local heroes…_ ”

Tumulus looked up at the screen.

“ _A bank robbery of Gotham First National Bank turned bad… for the robbers when the Gotham knights arrived. This triumph almost became a tragedy when the truck the thieves were using crashed off of the highway and almost fell to the city below. Luckily, Batman and Nightrunner were able to catch the truck before any tragedy took place. Just further proof of how fortunate Gotham is to have these two heroes watching over us._ ”

“Nightrunner,” Tumulus growled out. “No. You’re no hero. In time, you will learn. In time, they will all learn. You are nothing… but a murderer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The stinger here was inspired by "Iron Man 2" with the scene with Whiplash. I loved "Iron Man 2" and I think people are too hard on it.


	5. Chapter 5

** Chapter 5 **

Basem was sitting in his garage, staring blankly at his motorcycle. His mind had been preoccupied with Terry, Max, and the pregnancy but, now that he had a moment to himself, his mind went to Rene. It was just after 4 AM and patrol was done, which left Basem more time to think. He had trouble sleeping for the past few days with all of that on his mind.

Basem could never forget the day he lost Marie. In many ways, he lost Rene the same day. It was the same day Basem lost a lot. Rene never forgave him for Marie’s death, and he wasn’t the only one.

The door to the garage opened and Basem looked to see Terry walk in.

Basem couldn’t even fake a smile. “What’s up? Why aren’t you home?”

“Just wanted to check on you,” Terry approached.

“What about?”

“I know I’ve been busy with Max and everything, but… I know you’re going through something, too.”

“Nothing major.” Basem exhaled. “Just regrets.”

“It’s more than that.”

“Maybe.”

Terry pulled up a chair, turned it backwards, and sat down. “Talk.”

Basem paced back and forth. “I’ve already talked to Sally.”

“Yeah. And that’s good. I’m talking on a hero level.” Terry paused. “We’ve both failed people who mattered to us.”

“Who in the hell did you fail? And don’t say your dad.”

“Fine. To name a few: Freeze, Ten, and, very, _very_ nearly… Max.”

Basem walked over to the refrigerator he had in the garage, pulled a couple of bottles of beer, and handed one to Terry. “Well played, Batman.”

Terry removed the cap of the bottle. “It’s what I do.”

Basem sat down on a stool at his work bench. “I used to think that,” he opened his bottle, “someday, me and Rene would reconcile. Get past everything.”

“But…”

Basem took a drink. “The last time I tried… was three months after me and Sally started dating.”

Terry looked at him, surprised. “When did this happen?”

“Remember when I needed a couple of personal days, a couple of months after your wedding?”

“Yeah. You wouldn’t tell me where you were going.”

“I went to talk to him.”

Terry took a drink. “Bruce know?”

“He knew,” Basem confirmed.

“And?”

“Rene said he’d sooner die than forgive me.” Basem shrugged, “Guess he got his wish.”

Terry sighed. “You know I still don’t believe you caused Marie’s death. Too many x-factors to that day.”

“Your opinion.”

“But my point is…” Terry leaned forward on the chair. “…you can’t keep blaming yourself for this.”

“I don’t see why not,” Basem replied.

“Does anyone else blame you?”

“Stephen should.”

Terry thought back, “Marie’s… boyfriend, right?”

“Should’ve been husband. Would’ve been had it not been for me.” Basem stared at the floor. “We are all so close… before she died.”

“But does he blame you?”

“Not that he’s told me.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“She’s dead. Now, so’s Rene.”

Terry exhaled, harshly.

Basem shook his head, “But that part of my life is over. No fixing it. Wish to God that I could but I can’t.”

“There’s nothing to fix. You did what you were supposed to. Marie didn’t die because you killed her. It was the circumstance.”

Basem stared at Terry. “Is that what you tell yourself when you think about Freeze? Or Ten?”

Terry stared at Basem without a word. After all, he couldn’t find any to deny that.

* * *

A couple of more days passed before Max’s father, Joe, came back in town. Once he was back, Max took Joe out to dinner to give him the news. As they sat at dinner, Max was nervous as she couldn’t even begin to figure out to how to tell him about the pregnancy. She realized most of this pregnancy, so far, had been spent worrying how people would react.

After they had eaten, Joe looked at Max and notice that she was smiling but there was something behind it. “Max,” he said.

“Yeah?” she asked.

“Is… everything okay?”

“Uh… nothing. Nothing… really.”

“Max, you’re keeping something from me. What’s going on?”

Max took a deep breath. “I’m not gonna beat around the bush, Dad. I’m gonna tell you something and let you deal with it like you need to.”

Joe sat back. “Okay.”

Max took one more breath. “I’m pregnant.”

Joe’s eyes went wide. He opened his mouth but couldn’t speak for a while. He let the full weight of his youngest daughter having a baby completely settle in his mind. “Wow.”

She nodded.

He leaned over and rubbed his face. He scoffed. “I’m… I’m amazed. I… thought that Mel having Lita would be a feeling that I would never be able to duplicate.” He looked at his youngest daughter. “This is amazing, Max.”

“You’re not worried?” she asked.

“Of course, I am. But… I know you. You can handle this. And you’re not alone. Terry, he’s… proven himself to be a really good man.” He smiled. “And… really good for you.”

She smiled. “Thanks, Dad.”

“You’re welcome, Max.” He got up and walked over and hugged her. “You’re going to make an excellent mother.”

“I hope so.”

“You will. You’re an excellent person. All you’ve dealt with… me, at the top of the list, and you’ve you met every challenge. You can do this, too.”

“Wow,” Max blinked. “Dad… I… I don’t know what to say.”

“I should say all of this every day. You deserve to hear it, every day.” Joe squeezed her. “I’m so very proud of you, baby.”

Max shuddered and tears fell from her eyes. She’d waited a long time to hear those words from her father. It was worth it. “Thanks, Dad. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

* * *

The following night, Terry and Basem were in the Batcave, about to head out for the night, when Bruce called them over to the computer. Bruce hit a few keys on the computer and an image came up of a young woman wearing a blood red outfit with a dark red coat. The woman had red hair and a voluptuous figure.

“Whoa!” Terry and Basem said, simultaneously.

“Focus, boys,” Bruce said.

“Hey!” Terry said. “We’re spoken for!”

“Never stopped some heroes.”

“We’re not Ollie, Bruce,” Basem reminded.

Bruce smiled. “True.” He hit pressed another key. “Her name is Michelle Prince but her name on the street is Blaze.”

“Let me guess: pyrokinetic.”

“Exactly.” Bruce hit another key. “The pyrokinesis developed about ten years ago. She’s been in and out of prisons ever since.”

Terry leaned forward and looked at the data. “Looks like she’s been working her way up the ladder as a thief.”

“She’s in the diamond district. An alert just went off of a break-in at the Codsworth Diamond Exchange.”

Terry smirked, “Let’s go put her fire out.”

Basem threw his head back, “I cannot _believe_ you just said that!”

“What?”

“Let’s just go!” Basem shook his head as he went to suit up.

“What’d I say?” Terry asked.

* * *

Batman and Nightrunner arrived at the Codsworth Diamond Exchange and found Blaze just walking out with a gym bag, presumably full of diamonds.

Blaze looked at the two heroes and groaned. “Oh, shit.”

“Blaze, right?” Batman asked.

“That’s what they call me on the street.”

“You’re going to need to put the bag down and come with us.”

Blaze smirked, “The first part, sure.” She dropped the gym bag. “As for that second part? Yeah. I don’t see that happening.”

“There’s no need for this to be difficult,” Runner said.

“Actually… there’s a lot of reasons. Like…” Blaze threw a wave of fire at the heroes, causing them to jump out of the way and duck behind two cars.

Batman looked over at Nightrunner and yelled, “How many times have you told you to _stop saying that?!_ ”

“I keep forgetting!” Runner shouted back.

“Come on out, boys!” Blaze yelled. “I wanna have some fun!”

“Guess we gotta do this,” Batman said.

“Yup,” Runner agreed. “I’ll go first.”

“This is no time for bravery. I’ll let you.”

Runner rolled his eyes. He jumped over the car and charged at Blaze, but she threw another fire blast that knocked Runner back.

Batman charged in next but Blaze threw more fire his way, causing him to duck out of the way. Runner recovered and threw several of his stinger bits at her. Blaze blasted the bits out of the air, turning them to ash. Batman tried to tackle her while she was distracted, but Blaze turned in time to blast Batman with a fireball and send him down the street. Runner charged in next and managed to get a punch in, but Blaze came back with one of her own, which was charged with flames. Blaze uppercut Runner, sending him into the air before he crashed back down.

Blaze looked at the downed heroes and chuckled, “Is that all you got, boys? C’mon. A lady like me needs some excitement! At least, make this worth my while.”

“Well, damn, can’t turn down a challenge like that!” Batman jumped up and threw five batarangs at her.

Blaze incinerated those, but noticed Batman running straight at her. Blaze threw another wave of fire, but Batman used his rocket boots to fly over her. Blaze watched Batman fly and was about to throw more fire when her arms were suddenly bound when a metal cable wrapped around her body. She looked to see Nightrunner was responsible. Blaze was about to burn herself free before two capsules exploded at her feet, causing a casing of ice to form around her.

“Oh, you’re _kidding_ me!” Blaze shouted.

Blaze looked up in time to see Batman’s fist coming straight at her face, knocking her out instantly.

Once they were sure that was out, both heroes breathed a sigh of relief. Batman looked at Nightrunner, “That was _entirely_ your fault!”

“Oh, right!” Runner yelled. “Because we both know she was _never_ gonna attack us until I said something!”

“Oh, shut up!”

“ _You_ shut up!”

* * *

Hours later, at Blackgate Prison, Blaze sat in her cell with a power dampener around her neck and her hands bound. Her cell door opened and the guard walked in, “Well, seems like you’re getting some company.”

The guard moved out of the way and two more guards escorted Blaze’s new cellmate in. It was the same woman who Batman and Nightrunner caught just a few nights before who attempted to rob Gotham First National.

“Don’t know why you were booked together,” the guard said. “But, hey! Now you can be the best of girlfriends. Play nice, ladies.” She and other guards closed and locked the cell behind them and left, leaving Blaze and her new cellmate alone.

After a few minutes of silent observation, Blaze declared, “Well, you look like hell.”

“Thanks, Blaze,” the thief replied. “Or do you prefer… Michelle?”

“Oh, shut up, Blitzkrieg. Oh, I’m sorry. I meant Rachel.”

“Screw you, bitch.”

“Back at you,” Blaze sat back, attempting to get comfortable.

“Any word from the ‘boss’?” Rachel sat down.

“He said to sit tight and give him a few months to put everything in place.”

“Well, I guess he knows what he’s doing. They caught me, just as planned.”

“Ditto.”

“What if he leaves us here?” Rachel asked.

“Who cares?” Blaze replied. “We got our initial payment. If he ditches us, all we have to do is break out. Not that hard.”

Rachel examined the cell, “I’ve got better things to do than sit in prison. I don’t like the idea of being discovered, either. Too risky.”

“Oh, shut the hell up! No one even knows who the hell _you_ actually are. What name did they even book you under?”

Rachel smiled. “Teresa Shell. Bank robber.”

“And they bought that shit?”

“If they found out who I really was, they’d have the FBI, NSA, CIA, Interpol, and God knows how many more alphabet boys here to charge me with everything under the sun!”

Blaze laughed. “Hey, how did you avoid them figuring out who you are anyway?”

Rachel lowered her collar down, revealing a healed-over scar. “Splicer implant. Changes some of your DNA markers as long as it’s inserted, like fingerprints and retinal scan.”

“Nice. Well, I guess it’s just a matter of waiting.”

“Guess so.” Rachel looked around the cell a little more, then stared at Blaze. “Have you ever seen his face?”

“Who?” Blaze asked. “Tumulus’s?”

Rachel nodded.

“Nope. All I got was that guy who works with him. Showed up, told me the plan, paid me a million creds, and disappeared. Didn’t need anymore.”

“You’re a pretty basic bitch.”

“I think the term you’re looking for is ‘ _bad_ bitch.’ Get it right. Besides, what do I care? Money makes the world go ‘round, killer. I thought you’d know.”

Rachel smiled. “I know.” She sighed. “You’re right. We wait.”

“Yeah,” Blaze said. “After all, this guy just wants Batman and Nightrunner and is giving us a sweeeeeet payday. I can chill for a little while until he’s ready.”

“Hm. I gotta admit, you have a point. After all, 10 million credits to help him kill Batman and Nightrunner. That’s a deal that I can get behind.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter does have a terrorist bombing take place within it so, if you don't want to read that sort of thing, I hope you can try to read around it but it is important to the plot. Sorry if that's a hard part to read.

** Chapter 6 **

**_Five Months Later._ **

Max woke up around 3 AM, slowly got out of the bed, and went to use the bathroom. After she was done, she washed her hands and looked at herself in the mirror. “Hm. Ain’t you a sight?” She looked down at her swollen belly. “Hey. You in there. You’re the reason for these late night bathroom visits. Think you can start helping me maneuver out of bed? Most of this discomfort is your fault, ya know.” She smirked and whispered, “But we can both blame your dad.”

“I heard that,” Terry called out, sleepily, from the bed.

Max giggled. “Heard what, babe?”

“Don’t you ‘babe’ me.”

“But I love you. Babe. And I’m only up because of your offspring.”

“‘Offspring’? Really?”

“It’s not wrong,” she declared. “Any discomfort I feel is because you just had to get me pregnant.”

“You’re the one who said, ‘Bed. Now’,” he reminded.

“And you didn’t stop me.”

He got up and looked into the bathroom, “You’re enjoying holding this over me, aren’t you?”

She smiled.

“Come back to bed. I have to work tomorrow and all this late night stuff is starting to get to me.”

She turned around and, with a smirk, raised an eyebrow. “Really? _This_ late night stuff bugs you. Just this. Not nearly being blown up by Mad Stan every other night.”

“Hey!” he replied. “Don’t you talk about my good buddy, Stan! Okay? At least, he causes destruction at a sensible hour! I’m a working man, now. I need rest for my rigorous job.”

“Oh, yes. CEO of Wayne Enterprises. My God! How hard is your life?!”

“Junior Executive, thank you very much.”

“You still don’t do a damn thing,” she said.

“Oh, I do, too!” he argued.

“Like what?”

He stared at her, blankly. “You’re lucky I love you.”

“Aww, that’s the sweetest backhanded compliment I’ve ever heard.”

“Shut up,” he chuckled. He walked over and hugged her. “But seriously, you’re okay, right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she reassured. “Stop worrying. The doctor said this is normal. Besides, it’s probably just those damn McGinnis genes.”

“First of all, those damn Gibson genes are just as much trouble. But let’s not kid ourselves; we both know what genes are the most trouble.”

“The Wayne genes,” they said, simultaneously. They laughed.

They stood holding each other for a while.

“Just a couple more days,” Max said. “Ready to find out if we’re having a son or a daughter?”

“I’m still in shock from the ‘I’m gonna be a dad’ part,” Terry said. “But, yeah. I can’t wait.”

She giggled, softly. “We’re both still scared. Aren’t we?”

“Terrified,” he admitted.

“But we’re still in this together, right?”

“Always.”

She snuggled up closer against his chest. “I’m sorry I keep asking that.”

“Don’t be. Ask me as many times as you need. I’ve got you, Max.”

“Even when I’m irrationally afraid?”

He pulled her closer. “Especially then.”

* * *

Basem was up later that morning, getting ready for the day, when he looked on the news and saw a report of an assault on a police station in Paris. The news reported the local members of the Justice League Unlimited were at the station to help transport the dangerous criminal, Malum, to a high security prison when the attack took place. So far, there was no accurate casualty report. Basem stared at the television screen, worried sick about his friends.

He got a phone call on his cell phone. He answered, “Hello?”

“ _Basem,_ ” the voice came from the other end.

“Alex?! _Mon Dieu_ , I was about to call you!”

“ _I figured._ ”

“What the hell happened out there?!”

“ _We don’t know. Everything was fine, one moment, and the next… explosions everywhere._ ”

“God.” Basem rubbed his forehead.

“ _Basem,_ ” Alex said, hesitantly.

“Yeah?”

“ _We… can’t find Hayate._ ”

Basem’s blood ran cold. “What?”

“ _During the bombing, we got separated trying to track where the explosions were coming from. Me, Ari, and Hayate got separated. I found Ari. She was a little banged up but fine. Hayate…_ ” Alex fell silent.

“Where was Lance?”

“ _He was at the Metro Tower. It was just the three of us._ ”

Basem stared, blankly. “I’m on the next flight home.”

“ _No, you stay in Gotham. We’ll handle this._ ”

Basem started pacing.

Alex took note of his silence. “ _We’ll handle this._ ”

Basem sighed. “Okay. Tell Ari I said hang in there.”

“ _I will._ ”

“And call me the second you find Hayate or learn anything.”

“ _I promise,_ ” Alex replied. “Au revoir, mon ami.”

“ _Au revoir._ ” Basem ended the call and stared at the television screen. He couldn’t help but feel strong anxiety gripping his heart and mind.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Basem was at Sally’s apartment as they continued to watch the news coverage of the bombing in Paris. They were sitting on Sally’s couch with Basem leaning forward as he stared intensely at the screen. Sally was rubbing Basem’s back, trying to calm him down. The news covered that over 40 people were injured and, at least, a dozen were confirmed deceased.

Basem still hadn’t word from Alex about Hayate. “Dear God in Heaven,” he whispered.

“I know,” Sally said, rubbing his back more. “Who called you again?”

“Alex. He’s Outlaw. He found Ari, she’s Vixen. She’s okay, from what Alex told me.”

Sally sat forward, linked her arm around his, and rubbed his arm with her other hand, “And Hayate’s still missing?”

“Koutetsu, yeah.” Basem shook his head. “I need to know he’s safe. I need to know they’re _all_ safe.” He ran his hand over his head.

“Hey,” she kept rubbing his arm, “it’s gonna be okay. It will.”

He put his hand over his mouth. “I think someone targeted them, Sally.”

“That’s a conclusion to jump to. Why do you think that?”

“Too many factors. All signs point to it being an attack.”

“It was a bombing at a police station. Any terrorist group could’ve…”

“On the same day the Justice League is there?”

She stopped and let that sink in. “Oh, God.”

He stared at the screen. “It wasn’t any random bombing, Sally. It was an attack. And my friends were in the crosshairs.”

* * *

“But I don’t get it,” Terry said. He was standing next to Bruce at the computer, looking over the footage from the attack in Paris. It was 2 in the morning and Terry and Basem finished up their patrol with Basem already back home. “Who would launch an attack on a Paris police station and what was the League even doing there anyway?”

Bruce typed on the computer keyboard, “They were looking after the transport of the supercriminal known as Malum. Real name: Maximillian Uberti.”

“Wait, the rich guy?”

“15th richest man in the world. Or rather he was.”

“Hold on! Uberti’s Malum?!”

“Where have you been?”

Terry stared at Bruce, incredulously. “Getting married and worrying about a kid on the way.”

Bruce stared at Terry then went back to the computer, “Touché.” He hit a few more keys. “Uberti was outed as the criminal mastermind Malum eight months ago by the League. They managed to trace a lot of mercenary groups and private wars he’d been starting all over the globe back to him.”

“Yeah, I _did_ hear that they caught him, just didn’t remember them saying who he was.”

“Well, in your defense, Uberti’s name was kept out of the public circulation until they were sure.”

“A lot of people said he was almost as bad as Lex Luthor.”

“Not even close,” Bruce said.

“That’s your personal bias slipping in,” Terry smiled.

“Maybe. Anyway, Basem did some digging here in Gotham at Uberti’s old company to find a connection.”

“And shut him down. Nice. Why didn’t you guys tell me you were working on that?”

Bruce looked at Terry, “You were settling into your role as husband. Basem and I agreed to tell you, if you needed to know. There wasn’t any reason, so we handled it ourselves.”

“That’s fair.” Terry stared at the screen. “So, I’m guessing Malum was caught in the bombings. Is he dead?”

“Unconfirmed. No body was found.”

“That’s a problem if I’ve ever heard one.”

“Indeed.”

Terry stared at the screen. “Am I the only one who’s not liking any of this right now?”

“Which part?” Bruce asked.

Terry started counting on his fingers, “An attack on the League in Paris, all of whom are Basem’s teammates, one of them missing, no body for Malum, Rene Leblanc dead, and all of this causing Basem’s horrible mood.”

“No. You’re not the only one.”

Terry ran his hands over his face. “Too much is happening at once and I… I dunno, I feel like it’s connected.”

Bruce leaned back, interlocking his fingers.

Terry looked over at Bruce. “You’re getting that, too. Aren’t you?”

Bruce nodded.

Terry stared at the monitor for a long time. There was a pattern emerging. It was probably his own paranoia but he couldn’t help but think it was his Bat’s intuition kicking in. In fact, as much as he hated to admit it, he was positive it was the latter. “Bruce. I got a bad feeling about this.”

“So do I, Terry. So do I.”

An alert came over the computer, coming from Gotham First National Bank.

Terry jerked his head back, “Wait a second. Wasn’t there just a break-in there?”

“Yes,” Bruce said, checking the computer. “It was the same night you and Max told everyone about the pregnancy.”

“I’ll go check it out.”

“I’ll have Basem meet you there.”

* * *

Batman arrived at Gotham First National Bank and stared at it from a nearby rooftop. “Uh, boss?”

“ _What is it?_ ” Bruce asked.

“I’m not seeing anything.”

“ _You’re sure?_ ”

“Staring right at it,” Batman replied.

Bruce sat back. “ _Head inside and have a look around._ ”

“Got it.”

Batman entered the bank from the roof and went into the offices but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. He headed down toward the main lobby, when he noticed someone behind him. He turned around and saw Nightrunner.

“Oh, hey,” Batman said.

“Hey,” Runner said. “What do we got?”

“So far, a whole lot of nothing.”

They walked into the main lobby and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

“I think someone’s playing us,” Batman said.

Runner looked around and heard something outside. “Or we were set up.”

Batman and Nightrunner looked toward the high window and saw a military-style aircraft suddenly open fire. The machinegun rounds tore through the glass and concrete of the building, easily, causing Batman and Nightrunner to dive for cover and out of the line of sight.

“What the hell?!” Batman shouted.

“It’s a trap!” Runner surmised.

Batman grunted, “Can you keep it busy? I’m going out there!”

“Do it!” Runner ran out to get in the aircraft’s sightline.

Batman turned on his camouflage and flew straight at the aircraft while it fired at Runner. Batman landed on the aircraft, turning off his camouflage, and the pilot started jerking the vehicle left and right to get Batman to fall off. The aircraft was still shooting inside the bank, leading Nightrunner to dive behind the teller desks.

Batman managed to slam a small device on the aircraft, which magnetically locked itself to the side of the aircraft. Batman hit a button on his utility belt, “Locked in!”

“ _Beginning system override_ ,” Bruce said.

Bruce used the Bat computer and took over the aircraft, disabling the weapons system and starting to land the aircraft. As it got closer to the ground, Batman went to the cockpit, punched the glass, breaking it open, and pulled the pilots out. He punched both pilots, knocking them out.

* * *

As the aircraft was falling to the ground, Nightrunner looked up from behind the teller’s desk, relieved. He turned to his left and saw a man standing there wearing all black attire that covered his entire body, leaving no skin exposed. The outfit came complete with a hooded coat and a stark-white, skull-face mask.

“Do you fear what you don’t know?” the masked man asked, his voice electronically distorted. When he spoke, the mouth of the mask didn’t move.

Runner felt himself become uneasy. Not just because of the mask but the fact that he didn’t even see this man appear. “What?” Runner asked.

Suddenly, the masked man threw a punch that Runner managed to avoid. Runner flipped over the masked man, landed behind him, and backed up to gain some distance. When Runner was near the vault, the masked man rushed at Runner and shoulder-tackled him, throwing Runner against the vault door and knocking the door down. Despite the pain, Runner hurried to his feet and threw a punch, but the masked man, easily, stopped it, by catching Runner’s fist. Runner’s eyes widened in shock; he tried to push forward or pull away but he couldn’t move his fist.

“Not so strong, are we?” the masked man asked. “Typical for a second stringer.”

Runner narrowed his eyes in confusion.

The masked man pulled Runner forward, grabbed him by the throat, picked him up, and threw him back into the lobby. Runner landed hard on the floor and groaned as he struggled to get up.

“But, then again, you aren’t very good at fighting,” the masked man said as he stalked Runner. “Or protecting.”

Runner rubbed his throat, “Who… are you?”

“My name is Tumulus. And I am your justice. And your death. Before I’m done, you will bow before me. And die.”

Just then, Batman flew back in and landed in front of Runner. He looked at Tumulus. “Whoa. Didn’t know the Halloween stores were open already.”

“You see the irony of _you_ saying that, right?” Runner asked.

Batman shrugged.

“Batman,” Tumulus said. “I will you give you a chance.”

“A chance to…?”

Tumulus turned around, walked back toward the vault. He stopped and looked over his shoulder. “Abandon Nightrunner. Leave him to die. Or face my wrath.”

“Gonna have to say no to the first two and say ‘bring it on’ to that last one.”

“Predictable. You sealed your own fate.” Tumulus picked up the vault door and hurled it at Batman and Nightrunner. With authority.

“WHOA!” Batman shouted. They barely had time to dodge the door before it hit them. The door sailed past them and crashed through the front door of the bank, before landing in the street.

“Holy shit!” Batman said, looking at the damage.

Runner looked up to see Tumulus was gone.

“What in the damn hell was _that_ about?!” Batman asked.

Runner shook his head. “I haven’t the slightest idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> END NOTES: A/N: "Koutetsu" means "steel" in Japanese.
> 
> I want to give a big shout out and thank you to my buddy, RyokoMist from over on FanFic, for helping me come up with Malum in the first place. It was a big help! Thanks, Ryoko. You are a true friend. She stays busy and I know it. But give her work on FanFiction Net some love. It's great!


	7. Chapter 7

** Chapter 7 **

Terry, Basem, and Bruce looked over the video footage from Terry’s and Basem’s masks about their encounter with Tumulus. They observed Tumulus’s strength and prowess, leading to Terry to sum it up the best.

“Damn,” Terry shook his head.

“You can say that again,” Basem said.

“So, what’s up with his name?”

“‘Tumulus’ means an ancient burial mound,” Bruce explained. “The word comes from the late Middle English, derived from the Latin word _tumere_.”

“Is there anything you don’t know?” Terry asked.

“Why Max agreed to marry you _before_ she was pregnant.”

Terry stared at Bruce, coldly. “That was low and you know it.”

“What does he want?” Basem asked.

“That’s a question you’ll have to answer once you catch him,” Bruce said.

Terry scoffed. “Good luck with that. That guy just disappeared right after tried to take our heads off with a bank vault door.”

“Who were the two pilots?” Basem asked.

“That’s actually a little more interesting,” Bruce answered. “Fingerprints identified them as mercenaries. They work for Rachel Bills.”

Basem’s eyes grew wide and he groaned, “Oh, crap.”

“Whoa, wait,” Terry said. “Rachel Bills? As in Blitzkrieg? The _mercenary?!_ ”

“The very same,” Bruce said.

Terry nodded, “Whelp! We’re dead! We’re both dead! I finally get to marry Max and have a kid with her and _now_ I’m gonna die! I knew things were going too well!”

“Will you calm down?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Am I overreacting? That’s on me. I only freak out when a _legendary soldier_ who’s taken down _whole governments_ is suddenly in Gotham! But you know what? I’m wrong. My bad.”

Bruce rolled his eyes.

“He’s not completely off-base, Bruce,” Basem said. “This is bad.”

“Yes, it is,” Bruce said.

“So, do you think this Tumulus is working for Blitzkrieg or vice versa?”

“Again, the only way to answer that is to catch him or find her.” Bruce turned around and faced them. “None of this is coincidence. I think Tumulus wanted you both to know that he can get to you. You both better be on your guard.”

“Will do,” Terry said.

Bruce looked at Terry, “That aside, how’s Max?”

“Fine.” Terry smiled. “We go to the doctor’s in a couple of days. See if we’re having a boy or a girl.”

“As long as it’s healthy, that’s what matters.”

“True. But I need to know how I’m spoiling him or her.”

Bruce shrugged, “Love and affection tend to do the trick.”

“And, for the record,” Basem said, “that was Bruce Wayne who just gave you that advice.”

“I know,” Terry agreed. “These are scary times.”

“At some point, these jokes _will_ stop being funny,” Bruce said.

Terry and Basem looked at each other, smiled, and looked back at Bruce. “No, they won’t,” they said, simultaneously.

* * *

**_Two days later._ **

Terry, Max, Basem, and Sally sat in the waiting room of the doctor’s office. Terry and Max were both fidgeting as their nerves were coming back with Sally skimming through a magazine. While they were sitting there, Basem stretched his arms out and started yawning.

Sally looked up from the magazine at her boyfriend, “Tired, babe?”

“A slight more than a little,” Basem replied, rubbing his eyes.

“You guys didn’t have to come,” Terry said to Basem and Sally.

“Are you kidding?” Basem said. “After the past couple of days, I don’t mind the quiet of a doctor’s office.”

“And, I wanna see if I’m having a niece or a nephew,” Sally said.

“Your brother, Ray, has three kids,” Max said.

“Yeah, well, I can spoil this kid, though. I’ll see him or her more often.”

Max rolled her eyes.

Sally went back to flipping through her magazine. She glanced over at Max and noticed something. “Whoa. I can’t believe I haven’t asked this yet.”

“Asked what?” Basem asked.

Sally smirked. “Max.”

Max looked at Sally, “Yeah?”

“Your boobs got bigger, didn’t they?”

Max growled, “Shut up, Sal!”

Terry grinned and chuckled, “Yeah, they did!”

“ _Shut up_ , Terry!”

The nurse opened the door and looked at Terry and Max, “Mr. and Mrs. McGinnis?”

“Yeah?” Terry asked.

“We’re ready for you. Your friends can come, too, if you would like.”

The group got up and went into the patient room, with Max sitting on the patient’s bed while Terry held her hand. Basem was looking at some of the posters on the wall, a lot of them describing the female anatomy in particular detail.

“Those creep me out,” Terry said, shivering.

“You’re such a wuss,” Basem said.

“Come on! All of those extremely specific names don’t make you the least bit uncomfortable?”

“Oh, please. Sally leaves her books open all over her apartment and mine. I’ve seen way more detailed images than this.”

Terry slowly looked at Sally.

Sally shrugged, “What? I have to study!”

Terry rolled his eyes.

The door opened and Doctor Brian Kwan walked in. “Good day, all.”

“Hey, Doc,” Terry said.

“Hi, Dr. Kwan,” Max said.

Kwan looked at Basem and Sally. He smiled and looked at Terry and Max, “I’m really starting to be convinced these two are your bodyguards.”

“Well, Basem can be, if the occasion calls for it,” Max said.

Basem smiled and perked up.

“And what am I?” Sally asked. “Chopped liver.”

“You are gorgeous and brilliant, babe,” Basem said.

Sally smiled and blushed.

Kwan chuckled. “Well,” he looked at Max and Terry, “are you both ready for this?”

Terry and Max took a deep breath then looked at Kwan. They nodded.

Kwan brought in the necessary machinery and started the ultrasound. After a few minutes, everyone gathered around the monitor and the image of fetus came into view.

“Holy shit,” Terry whispered. He stood up, ran his hands over his head and face, and paced back and forth.

Max put her hand over mouth and started crying. Sally was crying right along with her.

Terry walked back over and kissed Max on top of the head.

Basem stared at the screen with a full-blown smile on his face. “Man,” he whispered in wonder.

Kwan smiled at the group, “Any idea what you want to name her?”

Terry and Max looked up Kwan, in surprise.

“It’s a girl?” Max asked.

Kwan nodded.

Max had to cover her mouth again, tears started flowing down her face.

Terry was stunned again. “A girl.” He rubbed his forehead as a couple of tears escaped.

“Oh, she’s going to be spoiled beyond belief!” Sally declared.

“A daddy’s girl, 100 per cent,” Basem added.

“Yeah, duh.” Terry looked at Max, “We have a name, don’t we?”

“Yeah,” Max answered, in between tears. She looked at her stomach. “I can’t wait for you to get here. Grace.”

Basem smiled. “That’s a beautiful name.”

“It was my grandmother’s. Mom’s side.”

“Love it,” Sally grinned.

* * *

Terry stepped out in the hallway and dialed his mother.

Mary picked up, “ _Hi, Terry._ ”

Terry felt tears fall already as he rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s a girl.”

She gasped.

“Mom, I’m gonna be a dad.”

Mary had to hold back crying. “ _And that little girl is getting the best man as her father._ ”

“You don’t even know that yet,” Terry said.

“ _I know you, Terry. We’d never get off the phone if I had to list all of the reasons why you’ll be an amazing father._ ”

He smiled. “Thanks, Mom. I, uh, just stepped outside to call you. I need call Max’s mom, too, and get back in there.”

“ _Go, go make your calls, son. Call me later. I’m so happy for you, son._ ”

“Thanks, Mom. Love you.”

“ _Love you, too,_ ” Mary said. “ _Give Max a hug for me and tell her I love her, too._ ”

“You got it, Mom.” Terry ended the call then dialed Max’s mother.

“ _Terry!_ ” Lisa answered.

“Hey, Mama Lisa,” Terry said.

Lisa gasped. “ _You’re at the doctor! How’d it go? Is everything okay?! How’s Max? How’s my grandbaby?!_ ”

“Max is fine. As for your grandbaby… she’s fine.”

Lisa took a second. She let out a shaken breath. “ _It’s a girl._ ”

“Yeah,” Terry said.

“ _I’m gonna have another granddaughter._ ”

“Yes, you are.”

“ _Terry… thank you._ ”

“What did I do?” Terry asked.

“ _You’re there,_ ” Lisa declared. “ _You love Max. I can’t tell you how grateful I am for you and Eddy. For all you do for my daughters._ ”

“I can speak for Eddy and myself when I say, it’s our pleasure.”

* * *

That evening, Basem was sitting on his bed, going over pictures and files from the attack in Paris. He had paperwork spread out all over his apartment and video feeds were playing on five holographic screens, showing the bombing from different angles. Alex didn’t have any new information and they still hadn’t found Hayate or Malum.

Basem set the papers down he was holding and rubbed his forehead.

He heard the elevator rise up to his floor. The door opened and Sally walked in.

She smiled, “Hey, babe.”

He smiled at her. “Hey.”

She held up food containers in plastic bags. “I brought dinner.”

“Thanks, Sally.” He went back to looking back at the papers.

She walked over to the bed and kissed his cheek. “What’s all this?”

“Information from Paris attack. I’m trying to see if I missed anything.”

“How can I help?”

He looked at the reports and exhaled. “I don’t think you can. I don’t even know what I’m doing. I can’t do anything from here. I’m just… trying to keep busy.”

She patted his arm, “Come on. You need to eat. Get your mind off of it.”

He nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, okay.”

“Besides, you should be just a little happy. We’re gonna have a niece!”

He smiled. “Grace McGinnis. Wow, she’s really gonna be spoiled.”

“Yeah. She’s gonna get toys, piggyback rides, pampered all the time. And just think what Terry and Max will do for her.”

He chuckled and looked at her. “Thank you, Sally.”

She kissed him. “Anytime.”

* * *

Just after 11 that night, Batman was on patrol when a call came in from Bruce.

“Yeah?” Batman asked.

“ _We have a problem,_ ” Bruce said.

“Shocking,” Batman said, sarcastically. “And that would be?”

“ _Alerts just went off at Blackgate. It’s a prison riot._ ”

“Oh, joy.”

“ _Where’s Basem?_ ”

“I thought he was with you,” Batman answered.

“ _No,_ ” Bruce replied.

Batman jerked his head back, “Huh. Well, see if you can get him. I’m headed to Blackgate.”

“ _Gordon already has her riot police on the way._ ”

“Good. Gonna need all the help I can get.”

“ _I’ll do my best to contact Basem and get him over there._ ”

“Right.” Batman hit the throttle on the Batmobile and sped off toward the prison.

Batman arrived at the prison and saw smoke coming out of the windows from the cafeteria area. Batman stared down at the scene and listened for all of the details coming through the guards’ communications. From what he was hearing, he was in for a rough night. Batman launched himself from the Batmobile and landed on the prison, entering through a nearby window. He landed in the cafeteria, immediately knocking out two prisoners. All of the inmates stopped their activities and all focused on Batman.

Batman looked at them and nodded, “Okay. I get it. You guys are mad that I put you in here. Some of you… I put in with a cast. Or two. Maybe three. But come on. Can’t we let bygones be bygones and you go quietly back to your cells?”

The prisoners all charged at him at the same time.

“Okay, guess not.” Batman threw a ball down to the ground, causing it to explode into tear gas. The prisoners all started coughing while Batman rocketed up to the roof. He extended his wings and glided down into the fray, taking out prisoners left and right. Minutes later, the riot police rushed in and started subduing the prisoners.

Batman smiled when he saw Commissioner Barbara Gordon among them.

“Hey, kid,” Barbara greeted. “Flying solo tonight?”

“Looks that way,” Batman said.

“ _Terry,_ ” Bruce said.

“Go ahead.”

“ _Get to the west wing. Now!_ ”

“Got it!” Batman looked at Barbara, “Something’s going down on the west wing.”

“Go,” Barbara instructed. “We’ll take care of this.”

Batman flew up to the ceiling and out of the window. He headed for the west wing to see an airship, similar to the one he and Runner faced just a week ago, above the roof. He heard some screams coming from the hallway below him. He looked at the airship but used his scanner to see there were some guards cornered by inmates in a bathroom. Batman knew he probably could get to the airship, but he couldn’t ignore the plight of the guards. He dropped down through another window to the help the guards. Batman burst into the bathroom and started attacking the inmates. After taking them out, Batman heard a loud crash. He looked up and saw the eight-foot-tall, extremely muscular metahuman had burst through the wall.

“Blockbuster!” Batman shouted.

Blockbuster grabbed Batman, wrapping his massive hand around Batman’s chest with his fingers reaching the hero’s back, and shoved him against another wall.

“Okay, not gonna lie: I kinda forgot you were still here. So… how ya been?”

“Pretty good,” Blockbuster growled. “Especially now that I get to tear you apart with my bare hands.”

“As fun as that sounds…” Batman pulled out an electric batarang and slammed the broadside of it against Blockbuster’s chest, electrocuting Blockbuster and causing him to drop Batman.

Batman fought Blockbuster, punching him through the wall of the bathroom and taking them both into the hallway. Batman used his rockets to hit Blockbuster with a powerful uppercut. Blockbuster hit the ground with a resounding thud, laying there unconscious.

Batman coughed to clear his throat. “Well, that was fun.” He rushed further down the west wing. Once he got toward the end of the hall, he found a lot of carnage. There were guards and inmates with injuries ranging from minor to mortal wounds.

“What the hell?” Batman asked, horrified. He got on his communications, “Get a med team down here, now!”

“ _They’re already on their way,_ ” Bruce said.

“Did you get anything from the security cameras?”

“ _No. The cameras in this wing were disabled. Right after you arrived._ ”

Batman jerked his head back. He slowly walked down the hall until he came to a cell where the door had been ripped off. He looked up and found a hole in the ceiling, clearly where the airship was that he saw earlier. “Was all this just to break someone out?”

“ _It would seem so,_ ” Bruce surmised.

Batman looked back at the cell. “Well, who the hell was in here?”

* * *

Blitzkrieg and Blaze walked into an underground, abandoned train station and found Tumulus sitting on a cement block with his head bowed. Standing by Tumulus, there was a man wearing a white three-piece suit and a black cape standing and another man in red suit with a matching mask leaning against a wall.

“Lord Troy,” Blitzkrieg said to the man in the suit.

Troy nodded at Blitzkrieg, “Ms. Bills.”

“Well, the gangs all here,” Blaze said.

“Almost, dear lady,” Troy said.

Blaze looked at the man in red, “Who’s the crayon?”

The man in red took his mask off, revealing a blonde haired man in his twenties. “Call me Flicker, sweetie. I hope we can become friends.”

“I doubt it.” Blaze looked at Tumulus, “You’re the guy, right? The man in charge?”

Tumulus didn’t say anything. He didn’t even move.

“Oooookay!”

“What’s next?” Blitzkrieg asked.

“We prepare,” Troy said. “Our target is Nightrunner, but we’ll have to deal with Batman as well.”

“Wait a minute,” Blaze said. “If Batman’s not the target, why was he the only one at the prison? Couldn’t you have gotten Nightrunner there and just killed him?”

Tumulus’s head shot up. “Kill him.”

Everyone looked at him.

Tumulus looked at Blaze and slowly stood up, “This is not about simply killing him. This is about destroying him. When I show him the failure he is, what a complete and utter weakling he’s become, and prove to him he is no hero, he will die.”

Blaze and Blitzkrieg looked at each other, unsure.

“And it will be at my hands.”


	8. Chapter 8

** Chapter 8 **

Batman was in the Warden’s office with Barbara to see who was in the cell in the west wing that was broken into. The names of occupants surprised Batman to say the least.

“Blaze and the woman from the bank robbery months back?” Batman asked.

“Teresa Shell,” the warden said.

‘ _Again, with this same bank?_ ’ Batman thought.

“Why did you put a bank robber in with a metahuman?” Barbara asked.

“I had my orders handed down,” the warden said. “They were to be put in the same cell.”

“And who gave you those orders?”

The warden combed through his paperwork and found a letter that came from Interpol.

“What the…” Batman whispered.

Barbara examined the paper then handed it back to the warden, “I want a copy of this sent to me right away.”

“I’ll send it now,” the warden informed.

“Thanks,” Barbara headed for the door and waved for Batman to follow her.

“Thank you, Batman,” the warden said. “You really saved us here.”

Batman nodded, “Here to help. Night.”

Once in the hallway, Barbara closed the door to the warden’s office, “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Not a bit,” Batman agreed.

“Why would Interpol order Blaze be put in the same cell as a bank robber? Why did they even care in the first place?”

“And why did someone go through all this trouble just to break them out?”

“Five inmates and two guards dead,” Barbara shook her head. “The rest, critical. All bad.”

“Seriously,” Batman folded his arms.

“And where was your partner?”

“No idea. That’s the next thing on my ‘to do’ list.”

“You sure he’s okay?”

Batman stared at Barbara. “Not really.”

“Go,” Barbara ordered. “I’ll get you a copy of that letter.”

“‘Preciate it. See you later, Commissioner.”

“Take care of yourself, kid.”

Batman went outside, got in the Batmobile, took off into the night sky, and contacted Bruce. “You got all that, right?”

“ _Yes,_ ” Bruce replied.

“All of that to free just the two of them.”

“ _It seems that way._ ”

“What the hell is going on, Bruce?”

“ _I don’t know,_ ” Bruce replied. “ _And I still can’t reach Basem._ ”

“So, what do we do?” Batman asked.

“ _You’re going to investigate what’s going around here. I’m gonna talk to Basem._ ”

Batman could hear the edge in his mentor’s voice. “Hey, Bruce, hold on a sec.”

“ _What?_ ” Bruce asked.

“You’re mad, I get it. But I don’t think B would just ignore us.”

“ _What do you call it? He didn’t answer my calls or yours._ ”

Batman paused. “But I know someone who would talk to him.” He dialed Sally through the Batmobile. “Huh. That’s weird.”

“ _What?_ ” Bruce asked.

“I called Sally and… I’m not getting any kind of signal.”

Bruce was silent for a few seconds, “ _Do a fly by. Check on him._ ”

“Right,” Batman agreed. “And I’ll ask Max to call Sal, too.”

Minutes later, Batman flew over Basem’s apartment and saw nothing was out of the ordinary. He even saw Basem and Sally sitting in the apartment via the skylight window of Basem’s loft.

“You’re not gonna like this,” Batman said to Bruce.

Bruce stared at the scene from the camera on the Batmobile. “ _Leave him for now. I’ll deal with him later._ ”

“Bruce…”

“ _I’ll deal with him later._ ”

‘ _Oh, shit,_ ’ Batman thought to himself.

* * *

Basem was going through some of the paperwork when he saw a file that Alex sent over. “Huh.”

“What is it?” Sally asked.

“There’s a transfer request for Malum that came from Interpol.” He looked off, quizzically. “Interpol.”

“Transfer to where?”

Basem jerked his head back. “To Gotham.”

“What?” Sally asked.

Basem’s cell phone started ringing suddenly. Sally’s rang as well.

“It’s Bruce,” Basem said.

“And Max,” Sally said.

They both answered their respective cell phones and, after a few minutes, Basem and Sally looked at each other, unsure.

“You need to go,” Sally said to him.

“Yeah, I do,” Basem replied. “You better head on home. I’ll call you later.”

She nodded, “Okay.”

* * *

Basem walked into the Cave from the house and found Terry leaning against the computer with Bruce sitting at the console. Basem slowly approached and Terry shook his head, nervously.

Basem took a deep breath and looked at Bruce’s chair. “Okay, I’m here. Are going to keep scolding me with one word responses?”

“I have more words for you, now,” Bruce said, coldly, as he turned around and looked at Basem.

“What’s the problem?!”

“There was a riot at Blackgate tonight,” Terry informed.

Basem stared at Terry, blankly. “What?”

“Yeah, we got it all under control, though.”

“Why didn’t you call me?”

“I did,” Bruce said.

“So did I,” Terry said.

“No, you didn’t!” Basem argued.

“Yes,” Bruce replied. “We did. Several times.”

Basem pulled his phone out, “I don’t see any calls except for when you told me to get over here.”

“And you didn’t get any kind of news about it?” Terry asked.

“The important thing is that you should’ve already been out on patrol,” Bruce said.

“I did get an early start.”

“That’s not the point! And the riot didn’t start until almost 11!”

Terry gave his mentor an exasperated look, “Come on, Bruce. Give him a chance.”

“I don’t need a chance!” Basem said. “I didn’t get any damn calls.”

“You abandoned your duty!” Bruce declared.

“I didn’t abandon anything! I was looking into the Paris attack!”

“The League is handling that! You need to handle Gotham!”

“What do you think I do?! All the time!”

“You didn’t do it tonight!” Bruce shouted.

“Here we go,” Terry whispered.

“You’re Terry’s partner,” Bruce declared. “You came here to fulfill _that_ role! And you’re supposed to be the one he counts on!”

“Don’t tell me anything I already know,” Basem argued.

“Alright, fine. I’ll tell you this. There was an emergency, and you were nowhere to be found!”

“I didn’t know about it!”

“You should have! Terry needed your help!”

Basem growled. “I know that! I don’t know what happened, okay? My phone was on!”

Terry looked up. “Blocked signal.”

Bruce and Basem stopped arguing and looked at Terry.

“Me and Max tried calling Sally and couldn’t get her either. And she was with Basem. They both _just_ got the calls. What are the odds that _both_ of their phones are off or didn’t get a signal?”

Basem paused for a while. “No news about the riot came through on my phone or scanner. Nothing even came on the net feed.”

Bruce got back on the computer and started typing. “There was some kind of disturbance in that area. Something had gone wrong with all signals within a three-block radius of Basem’s apartment.”

“Power outage?” Terry asked.

“No. There’s been no surge or loss of electricity in that area.” Bruce looked at Terry, “Go look into it.”

“Whoa, Bruce,” Basem said. “It’s my home.”

“And you may have been targeted. Go check it out, Terry.”

“Right,” Terry headed to the Batmobile.

“I should go with him,” Basem said. “I mean… how do you figure I could be a target?”

Terry stopped, curious to hear Bruce’s response.

Bruce stared at Basem, “You don’t get any calls? No news about the riot? You don’t hear a thing? None of that seems like a coincidence to you? You could be the target, you could not be. We don’t know yet. That’s what we need to find out. Until then, you need to stay here.”

“It’s my apartment!” Basem said.

“And it could have someone watching it.”

“So, let them watch!”

Terry looked back and forth between them as the tension mounted.

Bruce looked over at Terry, “You’re still here?”

Terry put his hands up in defense. “Already gone.”

* * *

Minutes later, Batman landed on top of Basem’s roof and had a look around. “Nothing so far.” He didn’t get a response. “Hello? Anyone there?”

Still no response.

He groaned, “Great.” He hit a button on his visor and started scanning for a concentration of signals. He looked over at a building across the street to see a signal coming from there. He flew to the rooftop of the building, walked over to a satellite, and looked at the base of it. He found a device with a red light. He opened it up and pulled out a wire, shutting it off.

“ _Terry,_ ” Bruce said.

“There you are!” Batman said. “Found whatever was doing this.”

“ _I can see it. Why did you break it?”_

“Oh, I pulled one wire!” Batman fired back. “Because it was jamming the signal. It should still be able to receive.”

“ _It was still on?_ ” Bruce asked.

“Yep.”

Bruce fell silent. “ _Scanning it._ ” After a few seconds of quiet, Bruce came back. “ _The signal is coming from somewhere in the industrial district. Near Mayers and Juliet._ ”

Batman thought for a second. “Isn’t there nothing there but an old steel place?”

“ _Stern Ironworks. They went bankrupt decades ago, but the property was determined to be unfavorable for any other business to move in._ ”

“Want me to go check it out?”

“ _Do you have anything else to do?_ ”

“I do have a pregnant wife at home. In case, ya know, I hadn’t mentioned that before.”

“ _She’ll be fine,_ ” Bruce replied. “ _Get going to Ironworks._ ”

“Sure.”

Batman flew the Batmobile to at the derelict Stern Ironworks factory. The whole area was condemned, deemed too dangerous for the public. The buildings were all barely hanging together with cracked concrete, shattered windows, and partially caved-in roofs and walls. The whole complex was prominent when Bruce was younger but, after it was shut down, the land was never sold and remade into anything else. It remained largely forgotten by Gotham, as a whole.

“Are you sure the signal came from here?” Batman asked Bruce.

“ _Yes,_ ” Bruce said.

“Okay, anywhere, in particular?”

“ _No._ ”

“Great. Love that incredibly vague direction.”

“ _Bruce, let me go with him,_ ” Basem asked.

“ _No,_ ” Bruce answered.

“ _But…_ ”

“ _No!_ ”

Batman shook his head, “Just a typical day in the life.” He entered one of the buildings and went to one of the overseeing offices. He walked around and found a laptop.

“Uh, weird.” Batman looked at and saw that it seemed brand new. “Hey, can you look how old this laptop is?”

“ _Already on it,_ ” Bruce said. After a couple of seconds, he said in a grave tone. “ _Terry._ ”

“Yeah?”

“ _This model is only six months old._ ”

Batman backed away from it. “Crap.” He looked at the window of the office and saw something in the reflection. Batman dropped to the ground a knife flew over his head. Batman, jumped over the desk, rolled, and looked up and saw Flicker and Lord Troy.

“Okaaaaaay,” Batman said, hesitantly.

* * *

Basem’s eyes went wide, “Lord Troy?”

“What?” Bruce asked.

“That’s Lord Troy! He’s a supervillain, magic user. I’ve fought with him in Paris!”

“Do you know the other one?”

“Never seen him before.” Basem shook his head and whispered, “What the hell is Troy doing here?”

Bruce looked back at the screen, “Terry. The man in the cape is an enemy of Basem’s. Codename: Lord Troy. Magic-based powers. Be careful.”

* * *

Batman stared at his new adversaries, “So… did you guys need directions to the nearest convention? I think it’s downtown, off Main Street.”

“Funny, Batman,” Troy said. “Does Nightrunner like your sense of humor?”

“Who?”

Troy chuckled. He moved his hands around as magical energy began to appear. “You don’t know him?” He made a ball of energy appear.

Batman’s eyes widened. “Uh-oh.”

“Maybe this will remind you!” Troy threw the energy at Batman.

Batman jumped out of the way, only for Flicker to appear next to him. Flicker kicked Batman in the face, sending him to the ground. Flicker drew another knife and tried to drive it into Batman’s leg but Batman rolled out of the way. Batman got up, tried punching Flicker, but Flicker teleported out of the way.

“Oh, what the hell?!” Batman had to dodge a blast of energy from Troy. He looked back to see Troy conjuring more magic. “This is a bad night.” He activated his rocket boots, flying off before Flicker tackled him out of the sky. They both crashed onto a catwalk and rolled along the grating before Batman threw Flicker off of him. He got up and saw Troy still conjuring magic.

“A _seriously_ bad night…” Batman mused.

Troy launched the blast at Batman.

Batman ran away from the blast but was caught up in the resulting explosion that flung him to the ground floor.

“Shame that you didn’t last longer, Batman,” Troy said as Flicker appeared on another part of the catwalk. “This could’ve been more fun.”

“I’ve had enough fun for the night,” Batman whispered. He pulled out a batarang with white edges. He threw it at them and it exploded into a flash grenade, blinding Troy and Flicker.

With no ability to determine where Batman went, Troy threw another blast of magic that exploded where Batman was just standing. The explosion launched Batman through the wall and outside, burying him under some debris.

After the light cleared, Troy and Flicker took a second to gather themselves then looked around and didn’t see their target anywhere.

“Are we going after him?” Flicker asked.

“No,” Troy replied. “Shut down everything here and let’s go. We need to report back. Hurry.” He flew up via a hole in the roof while Flicker teleported away.

After a few seconds, Batman pushed himself out of the rubble. He groaned and grabbed his forehead, “Ugh, what the hell?”

“ _Terry!_ ” Basem shouted over the comm.

“ _Terry, come in!_ ” Bruce shouted.

“Not so loud, guys! My ears are still ringing.” Batman looked around, “Am I in the clear?”

“ _Troy and the other man are gone,_ ” Bruce said. “ _Can you get back here?_ ”

“Yeah. On my way.” He looked up at the building and whispered, “What the hell is going on?”

* * *

**_Underground Abandoned Train Tracks._ **

Troy and Flicker walked back to the train and went inside the car to find Tumulus, Blaze, and Blitzkrieg sitting around.

“Apologies,” Troy said as he and Flicker walked up to Tumulus. “We didn’t expect Batman to show up. We were waiting for Nightrunner.”

“And we didn’t finish him,” Flicker said. “He, uh… he got away.”

“It’s fine,” Tumulus said. “There is no need for concern. I needed a message to be sent eventually. Now they suspect that Nightrunner is my true target. They will learn how dangerous it is to follow him. Even trust him. Soon, I will give them a chance: they can abandon Nightrunner or die with him.”


	9. Chapter 9

** Chapter 9 **

Terry woke up the next morning, grabbing his forehead. He felt like he had been out drinking all night, not fighting supervillains. “Great,” he said. “All of the hangover without any of the fun.” He looked up and Max was sitting next to him. “Hey.”

“Hey,” she smiled.

“Hey, how’d I get home? Last thing I remember, I was just pulling into the cave and…”

“Bruce said you passed out almost as soon as you parked the Batmobile. They made sure you were alright then B brought you here. Bruce said it was just exhaustion from the night.”

“Yeah, I can see that,” he mused.

“What happened last night?” she asked.

“After dealing with a riot at Blackgate, we had a little talk with B about being radio silent.”

“What happened with all of that?”

“That’s just it. We think someone’s after B. There is some kind of signal that was blocking his place. That’s why we couldn’t get a hold of him or Sally about the riot last night.”

“It was just on his place?”

“No, the whole block. Three, actually. Anyway, the trail of the signal that knocked out B’s whole block led me to Stern Ironworks and an ass kicking. These two guys were waiting. One of them was an enemy of Basem’s: Lord Troy. Took ‘em on. Got my ass handed to me.”

“Looks like it.”

“ _Feels_ like it.”

Max looked him over, “Terry… what is actually going on?”

“I don’t have the slightest idea,” Terry answered.

“Is someone after Basem?”

“Scary answer: yes.”

The rest of the day for Terry was spent trying to recuperate from last night. Bruce was busy tracking down any information on Lord Troy and to find the identity of his accomplice. Basem was doing the same when Sally came by his apartment. She opened the freight elevator doors to find Basem working on something electronic as his work bench.

“Hey, babe,” Sally said, smiling.

“Hey,” Basem said.

She felt a little worried. She’d never seen Basem like this. She walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek. “Are you okay?”

“They were here,” Basem said. “Whether I was the target or not, they were here. I’m making sure they don’t ever block me, ever again.”

“Can I help at all?”

“Not at the moment.” Basem kept working.

Sally stared at him, intently. She’d see him focused before but never like this. “Baby…”

“I just want to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Suddenly, the elevator went back down to the bottom floor.

“Did you come alone?” Basem asked.

Sally nodded. “Maybe it’s Terry.”

“Probably.”

The elevator came back up and Max opened the doors, a smile on her face. “Hey, guys!”

Sally’s eyes widened. “Max!”

“That’s my name.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Came to bring B something.” Max set her purse and her backpack down on the table.

“How did you get here?” Basem asked.

Max stopped going through her bag and stared at Basem. “I drove.”

“By yourself?”

“I do have a license,” Max pulled a device out of her bag.

“Max, it’s dangerous for you to come here right now.” Basem looked at Sally, “For that matter, it’s dangerous for _you_ to come here.”

“Oh, we don’t even know you were the target,” Max said, fiddling around with her device.

“And if you think I’m staying away, you’re crazier than I am,” Sally said.

“We _do_ know I was the target,” Basem corrected. “Troy is an enemy of mine. But how he knows my identity is anyone’s guess.” He looked at Max, “And what is that?”

“It’s a signal disruptor,” Max said. “If anyone tries to hijack the signal in a _six_ block radius, you’ll know instantly and this will disable whatever tries.”

“When did you make this?” Sally asked.

“Like five years ago,” Max looked at it. “Dammit, where are those batteries?” She looked through her backpack. “A-ha!” She pulled out a package of AA batteries.

“Seriously? AA batteries?”

“What? Low tech is sometimes the best answer.”

“Why do you have this?” Basem asked.

“Made it for Terry in case he ever needed it,” Max answered. “Bruce had beaten me to it by 12 hours. It made me feel smart to have the same idea as Bruce Wayne.”

“As oppose to being able to answer every question that leaves others with blank faces, Ms. Smarty Pants?” Sally asked with smile.

“ _Mrs._ Smarty Pants,” Max corrected. “You know how long it took me to get that damn ‘McGinnis’ last name? I earned it.”

“‘Miss’ is still technically and grammatically correct,” Basem smiled.

“Eh. Whatever. I like ‘missus.’ Well, some of the time.” Max turned the device on. “Alright. You’re all set. The design should make it that you should only change the batteries every six months but just keep an eye on it, just in case.”

Basem shook his head, “Max. You didn’t have to do this.”

“Like hell. Someone’s targeting you. Someone’s after my family. And I may be hormonal, emotional, hungry all the damn time, irritable frequently,” Max looked off to the side, “I forgot where I was going this.”

Basem and Sally laughed.

“Oh, yeah!” Max snapped her fingers and looked back at them. “But no one gets to go after my family and have me not do anything about it.”

Basem just held his smile, “Sometimes, I think you should be Nightrunner.”

“Don’t tempt me. I’ve only suppressed the bug to be Batwoman. I haven’t lost it altogether.”

“‘Batwoman’?” Sally asked.

“Originally, it would’ve been ‘Batgirl’ but, whatever,” Max shrugged.

“Does Terry know you’re here?” Basem asked.

“Of course. Protested the whole time. Made him stay his ass in bed until he has to hit the streets tonight.”

“I don’t want him or you to stress over me.”

Max stared at Basem, blankly. “But if we don’t obsess over you, what are we going to do until the baby gets here?” She smiled.

Basem laughed again. He sighed. “Thanks, Max.”

“Sure thing.”

“Guess you’re more than just a pretty face,” Sally joked.

“You’re just jealous because I’m thicker than you,” Max said.

Sally stared at Max for a while. “ _That’s_ a secret? Of course, I’m jealous of you, Greek muse! And, dang it, being pregnant is only adding curves to you!”

Max smirked. “I know, right? It’s pretty awesome.”

“Oh, wait! I point out your boobs are bigger, you tell me to shut up! Suddenly, it’s okay?”

“It is when my husband shows them a lot of appreciation.”

“Oh, I didn’t need to hear that!” Basem laughed as he walked back to his motorcycle and started working on it.

Sally smiled as she watched Basem to go to work. She looked back at Max, “I don’t what voodoo magic you wield when you enter a room but, God, do I love it!”

Max smiled. “No magic. Just me.”

“That’s always been pretty magical to me.”

Max rubbed Sally’s arm, “Glad I could help.”

* * *

Bruce was going through the security footage of from the prison and the battle Terry had at the Ironworks when he got a video call from Barbara. He answered the call and Barbara’s image appeared on the screen, “Wayne here.”

“ _Bruce, I have some information for you,_ ” Gordon said.

“What is it?”

“ _You’re not gonna like it._ ”

“I’m used to unpleasant news.”

“ _Aren’t we all. The transfer request did come from Interpol but from the Paris office._ ”

Bruce gave a hard glare at the screen. “Paris?”

“ _Paris,_ ” Barbara repeated.

Bruce sat back.

“ _What does this mean?_ ”

“I don’t know yet.” Bruce looked back at the screen, “But no one is going to like where this goes next.”

* * *

That night, after their patrol, which came with no sign of Tumulus or any of the others, Terry and Basem returned to the Batcave, where Bruce was standing by the landing pad for the airbike and Batmobile.

“We need to talk,” Bruce said as soon as the boys disembarked their vehicles.

“Okay?” Terry asked. He looked over to see Barbara standing at the base of the steps. “Commissioner?”

“Evening, boys,” Barbara greeted.

“What is she doing here?” Basem asked.

“We’ve been working on this whole mess,” Bruce said. “It seems that the request for the prisoner transfer came from Paris.”

Basem stared at Bruce, stunned. “Paris?”

Terry jerked his head back. “Paris?”

“Paris,” Bruce answered, walking toward the computer, followed by the boys and Barbara. Terry and Basem took their masks off once they were by the computer.

Bruce started typing on the computer, “Barbara managed to track down that the transfer request for Teresa Shell and Blaze was from the Interpol office there.”

Basem looked around, bewildered, as he whispered, “The transfer for Malum came from Paris, too.”

Bruce looked at Basem, “How do you know that?”

“Found that out just before you called me last night.”

Bruce looked back at the computer. “That settles it. We need to look into this, ourselves.”

“How?” Terry asked.

“You need to go to Paris,” Bruce said, bluntly.

Terry stopped. “I’m sorry. What?”

“You heard me.”

“Him?” Basem asked. “Why not me?”

“Because you need to stay here,” Bruce ordered.

“Oh, boy…” Terry whispered.

“And why is that?” Basem asked.

“Because you’ll get too emotionally involved,” Bruce answered.

Basem stared at Bruce, quietly. He wanted to argue but he couldn’t think of anything to say.

Bruce looked at Terry, “Pack a bag and get ready to go.”

“Timeout,” Terry said, holding his hand up. “You want me, a married man, to go to Paris, while my wife, my _pregnant_ wife, is at home and can’t go?”

“Yes.”

Terry rolled his eyes, “Do you hear yourself sometimes or does your stubbornness just go on auto-pilot?”

“Auto-pilot,” Barbara smirked.

“And what part of ‘the League can handle Paris’ did you not hear _yourself_ say to Basem _yesterday_?!”

“Things have changed since yesterday,” Bruce replied.

Terry rolled his eyes again and groaned.

“Do you think Max will understand?” Barbara asked.

“What woman is going to understand her husband going to Paris without her?” Terry asked.

Barbara stared at Terry for a few seconds. “I was going to say you’ll be working, but, yeah, you’re in trouble.” She sighed. “I’m really sorry, Terry. But… this isn’t something anyone else can handle.”

“I know, I know.”

“You know how the game’s played,” Bruce said.

“Too well.” Terry threw his head back. “I cannot believe this.” He looked at Basem, “You gonna be okay?”

Basem stared at Terry. “Just watch your back.” He headed to the stairs.

Terry rubbed the back of his head. He looked at Bruce, “When am I leaving?”

“Tomorrow morning,” Bruce answered. “Go home and let Max know. And get some rest.”

* * *

Terry was back at home and packing a couple of bags, so he could leave first thing in the morning.

“How long will you be gone?” Max asked.

Terry looked at Max as he put a shirt in a suitcase, “Just a couple of days, I promise.”

She folded her arms and looked away.

He sighed. “Max, this is just business. I’m only going to figure out what all of this stuff has to do with B and that’s it.”

She nodded.

He walked over and wrapped his arms around her. “The last thing I want to do is leave. You know that.”

“I know,” she whispered, hugging him back. “I don’t know what’s going on with me, right now. One minute, I’m fine then the next…” She shook her head, “I don’t know. Maybe I’m just freaking out. I mean, with yesterday, too. I haven’t seen you come home unconscious in a long time.”

“And then I’m leaving almost right after.”

“I’m just nervous, Terry. Someone aimed at B’s house! While he and Sally were there!”

“I know,” he agreed. “That’s why I wanna do this fast. I don’t like the idea of someone being after him.”

She exhaled. “Then you better get going. Grace needs her father. And I need you.”

“Just like I need you.”

She smiled. “Don’t you ever forget it.”

“How could I? It’s why you have a ring on your finger.”

She giggled then pulled him closer. “Be careful, Terry.”

He held her tighter, “I will. I promise.”


	10. Chapter 10

** Chapter 10 **

The following day, Terry was in Paris, overlooking the city from on balcony of his penthouse suite of Le Royal Monceau. It was breathtaking. It wasn’t even night yet and the city was extraordinary. Photos of Paris just didn’t do it justice.

“Man, Max,” Terry said to himself. “I wish you were here to see this.” His phone rang. He grabbed it out of his pocket to see Bruce calling. He answered, “Yeah?”

“ _Tonight, you need to break in to the Interpol office and get to their records,_ ” Bruce said.

“Got it. How’s Basem?”

“ _Not talking to me. But he’s still in the city. So, there’s that._ ”

“It’s something. Still making them go to the Manor?”

“ _Yes,_ ” Bruce confirmed. “ _It’s safer this way._ ”

“Like I said, it’s something. Talk to you later.” Terry ended the call then dialed Max.

“ _Terry?_ ” Max asked, hurriedly.

“Hey, baby.”

“ _Hey! You get there okay?_ ”

“Yeah, checked into the hotel and everything.” He sighed, “Max, we need to come here together. You gotta see this place.”

“ _Hopefully, we can get there, someday,_ ” she replied.

He jerked his head back. “No ‘hopefully,’ Max. We’ll get here. I promise.”

“ _Okay._ ”

He could tell she was still worried. “I’m gonna have a look around the city. I’ll call you later once I know something, okay?”

“ _Okay._ ”

“Alright. I love you.”

“ _I love you, too, Terry,_ ” she replied.

Terry ended the call and sighed. He knew all of this was still getting to her. And, in all honesty, he couldn’t even blame her. Their everyday lives were crazy enough; all this added pressure would be rough on anyone. It didn’t help it was across the board for his wife and two of his best friends. Maybe they could all use a vacation after this was done. But he had to focus on one thing at a time.

Terry went to go examine the site at the attack where Malum escaped and where Koutetsu was last seen. He arrived at the police station, dressed in his casual clothes, and just had a look around. The police tape was still up and a clean-up crew was hard at work. He stared at the damage and recalled the information he memorized from the reports.

The explosions took out the police vehicles first and, not even a second later, explosions went off around the League, allowing Malum to escape. The theory was the explosives were hidden right by where the League would be heading out. Maybe even right by their feet, disguised as improvised explosive devices.

This was planned. With great detail.

Terry was starting to get the idea that even the members of the League who were present were planned, as well.

Terry decided to grab some dinner to get ready for tonight.

* * *

Basem and Sally drove to Wayne Manor with Max riding in the backseat. Bruce had decided it was better for both Basem and Sally to stay with him, for the time being until all of this was sorted out.

“I don’t like this,” Basem said with a tinge of anger in his voice.

“We know, babe,” Sally said.

“I don’t get why we have to stay at Wayne Manor.”

“Because your place was being watched,” Max pointed out. “Ya know? Same reason why we’re driving a used car I just bought, so it couldn’t be tracked.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Basem groaned.

They pulled up in front of the Manor and found Bruce standing on the steps. They all got out and Bruce and Basem shared an uncomfortable glare at one another.

Sally looked back and forth between them, “So, are you two about to fight because… Basem, I love you all my heart, but I really don’t want to see Bruce beat the crap out of you.”

“Your girlfriend’s smart,” Bruce noted.

“Yeah, she is,” Basem admitted.

“Come in,” Bruce said.

Basem and Sally grabbed their bags and headed in the house with Max and Bruce.

“Not that I haven’t always wanted to see what it was like to sleep in this house, Bruce,” Sally said as they walked in, “but why am I here? No one was targeting my apartment.”

“That we know of,” Bruce replied. “Or at the moment.”

“He’s right, Sal,” Max said. “For all we know, you could be targeted, too. And if Basem really is being hunted and they know where he lives, they definitely know about you, too.”

Sally stopped. “Well, that’s far more terrifying when you put it that way.”

“That’s why you’re in the safest house in Gotham.”

“Unless they know you’re the original Batman, Bruce,” Basem said.

“I’m prepared for that,” Bruce replied.

“And what about Max?” Sally asked. “We’re just sending her home alone.”

“She’s going home, yes. But she’ll be far from alone. Quite a few detectives and former government agents owe me several favors. The house will be under constant surveillance.”

“Think that’ll be enough?” Basem asked.

“Terry and me have always been prepared for if something like that happens,” Max answered. “Trust me, I’m covered.”

“Doesn’t stop me from worrying about you, sister.”

Max smiled, “Well, if worse comes to worse, I’ll just have to count on you to save me, if I need it.”

Basem studied Max, “I may not be Terry but I swear I won’t let anything happen to you, Max.”

“I know.”

“What about me?” Sally asked, sticking her bottom lip out.

Max growled, “Oh, my God, woman! You are so needy!”

“Yeah? And?”

“Just when I was getting used to the peace and quiet of this house,” Bruce muttered while shaking his head.

* * *

That night, Batman glided through the sky, heading for the Interpol office. He laughed to himself; it had been a long time since he had to handle something like this completely alone without even a possibility of Basem coming to help him. He arrived at the Interpol station, landing silently on the roof before entering the building via the stairwell. “Okay, I’m in. Reading me?”

“ _Loud and clear,_ ” Bruce replied.

“Where’s Runner?”

“ _Out on patrol. Still not talking to me._ ”

“In his defense, I’ve done that to you a bunch of times, too.”

“ _Are you trying to be funny?_ ” Bruce asked.

Batman smiled, “Oh, come on. I gotta have some kind of fun.”

“ _You’re in Paris._ ”

“Working. And without my wife. That’s only fun to you.”

“ _You’re heading for the records room at the far end of the 15 th floor hall._”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Batman activated his cloaking device and walked down the hallway of the 15th floor. Due to the late hour, the bare minimum staff was on hand but Batman knew that he couldn’t be too careful. He came to the records room and got to the computer. He activated it and started typing, “Okay, okay.”

“ _Found anything?_ ” Bruce asked.

Batman rolled his eyes, “Yep. Sure did. Got all the information and now I’m back on the plane, headed back to Gotham. I just started!”

“ _Hurry up._ ”

Batman typed a bit more, then some more information came up. “Huh. Commander Marquis Le Grande?”

“ _Who is he?_ ” Bruce asked.

“He’s a commanding officer of the National _Gendarmerie_ here. Looks like he’s the one who made both of the prisoner transfer requests. They came from him first then went to Interpol. Malum was supposed to be transferred to a maximum security prison here in Paris.” Batman jerked his head back. “Okay, this is weird. It says that Malum was supposed to be moved five days before he actually was.”

“ _So, five days before the attack?_ ”

“Yeah. Looks someone was stalling until they were ready to free Malum.”

“ _Yes, it does._ ” Bruce fell silent. “ _Terry._ ”

“Yeah?” Batman asked.

“ _Do not tell Basem about this._ ”

“And why would I not do that?”

“ _Because Stephen Bellerose is in the National_ Gendarmerie _._ ”

Batman stopped. “Stephen. That’s the guy who was Marie’s boyfriend.”

“ _Yeah._ ”

“Oh, son of a bitch.”

“ _You took the words right out of my mouth,_ ” Bruce agreed.

“Do you think he’s in on this?” Batman asked.

“ _We don’t know yet. We need more information._ ”

“I guess Le Grande is my next stop tonight.”

“ _I’m sending you his address now._ ”

“On my way. Hey, real quick: why don’t I have the Batmobile?”

“ _Go. Now._ ”

Batman groaned, turned his cloak back on, and headed for the exit.

“ _And to answer your question: it’s because you didn’t ask for it,_ ” Bruce said, smugly.

Batman sighed and thought to himself, ‘ _Ask a stupid question…_ ’

Batman went to the home of Commander Marquis Le Grande. He went into the bedroom via the open window and found Le Grande sleeping in bed. Batman quickly placed his hand over Le Grande’s mouth, causing the commander to awake immediately. Le Grande wanted to panic but Batman preempted him.

Batman pressed his fore finger to his lips, “Shh!” He moved his finger, “ _Parlez vous anglais?_ ”

Le Grande was unsure but gave a slow nod.

“Alright. Don’t freak out, Commander. I get that might be hard since I kinda broke in, but trust me. I need to ask you some questions. I’m not gonna hurt you. Okay?”

Le Grande paused for a second but nodded, “Mmhmm.”

Batman moved his hand from Le Grande’s mouth.

“Batman?” Le Grande asked.

“Yes.”

“You’re in Paris?”

“Looks that way.”

“What do you want?”

“A lot’s been happening in Gotham City,” Batman explained, “and I followed a trail that led me here. Then, the trail led me to you.”

Le Grande pushed himself to sit up, “Me?”

“Yep.”

“How?”

“You signed off on orders through Interpol for the transfer of a prisoner in Gotham to share a cell with a metahuman prisoner, and for Malum’s move from prison to be delayed by five days.”

Le Grande looked at Batman, shocked. “I never signed any such orders. And I certainly didn’t have anything to do with that _bâtard_ Malum escaping.”

“You better tell the records department of Interpol that,” Batman said. “Because the orders have your signature on them.”

“They what?”

“Yeah.”

Le Grande slowly got out of bed and started pacing. After a minute, he whispered to himself, “Why would I do that?”

Batman stared at Le Grande, indignantly. “That’s kinda what I’m asking you.”

“I signed nothing like that. And I _wouldn’t_ sign anything that would affect the American prison system. I hardly ever have any deals with Interpol.”

“Can you think of any way your signature wound up on those documents?”

Le Grande thought about it. “I can look into it in the morning.”

“ _First_ thing in the morning, Commander. A lot’s riding on what’s happening here and you’re the key to it all.” Batman pulled out a communicator from his belt. “When you need to contact me, call me with this.”

“Right.”

“Clock’s ticking, Commander.” Batman turned toward the window and put one foot on the ledge.

“Batman.”

Batman looked over his shoulder, “Yeah.”

Le Grande paused for a while before asking, “How’s Nightrunner?”

Batman took a second to answer. “Hanging in there.”

“You know, me and him used to butt heads every now and again. But… can you give him a message for me?”

“Sure.”

“Tell him…” Le Grande said, “he’s one of the good ones.”

“I’ll take care of it.” Batman headed out of the window and flew off, heading back for his hotel. He activated his communicator, “Do you think we can trust him?”

“ _You were talking to him, directly,_ ” Bruce replied. “ _What do you think?_ ”

“My gut tells me he was legitimately surprised at the news, but… well, there are some good actors out there.”

“ _True. For now, rest up. You’re going to meet with the League tomorrow._ ”

“So, we’re bringing them in on this?”

“ _Not entirely,_ ” Bruce answered. “ _You’re telling them you’re following the trail of Lord Troy._ ”

“So we’re lying?” Batman asked, bluntly.

“ _It’s not a lie. It’s just not the entire the truth._ ”

“Man, I hope your perception of the world doesn’t rub off on Grace.”

Bruce smiled. “ _Well, given her brilliant mother, your daughter will be twice as smart as me and will be able to have a clearer view of the world._ ”

“Hey! What about me?”

“ _I’m praying all her brain functions come from Max._ ”

“Half my genes are yours, you know,” Batman reminded.

“ _Are you ever going to use them?_ ” Bruce asked.

“Oh, shut up!” Batman shouted, as he neared his hotel. “How’s Max?”

“ _She’s fine,_ ” Bruce answered. “ _She’s at home now. I’m keeping her monitored._ ”

Batman landed on the balcony and walked inside his room. “I’ll call her in a minute.”

“ _Alright._ ”

“Are you sure we don’t wanna tell B anything?”

“ _Not yet,_ ” Bruce replied. “ _We need more information before we let him know what we found._ ”

“Fine. Talk to you later.” Terry cut the communication, took off his uniform, and put it away. He sat on his bed and dialed Max.

“ _Terry?_ ” Max answered.

“Hey, baby,” Terry said.

“ _Hey!_ ” she said, excitedly. “ _You okay?_ ”

“I’m okay, yeah.”

“ _Did you find a lead?_ ”

“Sort of.” Terry went on to explain everything about the transfers and Le Grande.

“ _Not a lot to go on, really,_ ” Max said.

“That’s what Bruce said. It’s why we’re not telling B anything yet.”

She took a deep breath, “ _Well, that a questionable decision._ ” She exhaled, “ _But I get it. So, Commander Le Grande, is he in on this?_ ”

“Don’t know. I don’t think he is. But we’ll find out soon.” He looked out of the window, taking in the view of the city. “We really need to come here together, Max. When I’m not working.”

“ _Yeah, we do. Maybe we can…_ ”

Terry’s phone beeped and he looked to see Bruce was calling him. “Uh, Max, hold up a second.” He put her on hold and answered Bruce’s call, “What is it?”

“ _Get your uniform on, now!_ ” Bruce ordered.

“What? What happened?”

“ _There’s an attack taking place on one of the police stations._ ”

“Where’s the League?”

“ _On their way._ ”

Terry hopped to his feet. “Time to introduce myself. I’ll contact you when I get there.” He ended the call with Bruce and reconnected with Max. “Max?”

“ _Yeah?_ ” Max asked.

“Something’s happening. I gotta go.”

“ _Okay. Be careful._ ”

“I will.” He ended the call, threw his uniform on, and headed off into the night.

* * *

With Gotham being a quiet this evening, Nightrunner went back to Stern Ironworks to have a look around and maybe find any clues that might have been left behind. So far, all he found were traces of the burns from the magic attacks that Troy used against Batman.

“Troy,” Runner growled out.

Runner heard a sound similar to a rush of water behind him. He turned around to find Tumulus standing on a pile of rubble with Lord Troy, Flicker, and Blaze encircling him.

“Look what we have here,” Tumulus said.

Runner’s eyes went wide as he whispered, “Son of a bitch.” He knew he didn’t have a chance of surviving this if they decided to attack. His only option would be to retreat. If he could.

“Relax,” Tumulus said. “If I wanted you dead, you’d be dead.”

“You could’ve fooled me, first time we met,” Runner said.

“True. But do you think it’s that easy? You think this, all of this, is simply to kill you, Nightrunner?” Tumulus stepped toward Runner then began to circle him. “No, I can do that anytime.”

“You’ll find I’m not that easy to kill.” Runner kept eyes going from Tumulus to his subordinates and back again. His body was becoming tense as he fully expected a fight to occur.

“Perhaps. But I could kill you. If I wanted to. And I will when it’s time.” Tumulus shook his head. “But that’s not the point of this. Not yet. No.”

“Okay, then what _is_ the point?”

“The point is for you to suffer, _traitre_.”

“‘Traitor’?” Runner asked. “Why are you calling me a traitor?”

“You will learn that as well, in due time,” Tumulus answered. “Meanwhile, consider this: Paris.”

“What about it?”

“Are your friends as safe as you think they are?” Tumulus walked back toward his team.

Runner’s eyes widened. “What the hell does that mean?!”

“Figure it out.” Tumulus looked at his subordinate. “Troy.”

“Sir,” Troy started moving his hands, conjuring magic.

Runner took a step forward and shouted, “Who the hell are _you?!_ ”

“In time, you will know,” Tumulus answered. “Remember us, Nightrunner. Burn our names into your memory. We are the Graves. And when it’s time, my face will be the last thing you’ll ever see.”

Troy waved his hand one more time, causing a bright, burst of light. Runner covered his eyes from the light but, when it faded, he looked to see the Graves were gone.

“Paris,” Runner whispered. His blood ran cold. “Oh, God. Terry!”


	11. Chapter 11

** Chapter 11 **

Batman arrived at the Paris police station to see it was under attack by three military helicopters; the copters launching rockets at the building.

“Oh, son of a!” Batman landed on one of the copters. He punched through the glass of the cockpit, knocked out the pilot, then guided the helicopter to the ground.

Once it landed, Batman looked at the two other helicopters still in the air. He was about to go after when a wave of screeching sound crashed into him. Batman rolled along the ground and the first thing he thought was Shriek was in Paris. He looked up to see a woman with long dark green hair, wearing a dark green trench coat and matching outfit, approaching him. Her hair was obstructing her face but Batman could see that her eyes pitch black and, when she smiled, all of her teeth were similar to tiger teeth.

“Okay… WHAT?!” Batman shouted.

The woman took a deep a breath and unleashed a soundwave that blew Batman further back.

Batman landed against a nearby police car and shook his head. “Argh, what the actual hell?!”

The woman continued to advance at the hero, “What an opportunity you’ve given me, Batman. I’ll become legendary for killing you.”

“Can you do it, quietly?” Batman asked.

“Sorry. Not my style.”

“Should be, Thalia!” a voice shouted from behind Batman.

A figure dove over the car and Batman and tackled Thalia to the ground, and they broke into a brawl. Batman looked around and saw others appear on the scene.

Batman smiled, “Gotta love the Justice League.” He recognized it was Vixen who tackled Thalia, with Outlaw and Plastic Man taking on the helicopters.

Vixen was dressed in a dark gold jumpsuit, similar to what her mother, the original Vixen, wore with her Vixen totem hanging from her neck; the exception was that her outfit covered her entire body from the neck down. Outlaw was dressed in a military-styled outfit complete with body armor and a tactical mask; he was armed with twin pistols and an assault rifle at his back. Plastic Man was dressed in a unitard with a red and white color scheme and wore sunglasses. Vixen used her powers to summon a tiger spirit and summoning claws on her hands. Outlaw drew his guns and started firing at one of the helicopters while Plastic Man stretched himself to grab hold of the other helicopter to pull it down.

Figuring that Outlaw and Plastic could take down the choppers, Batman ran over to help Vixen fight Thalia. Thalia used her scream to force Vixen back as Batman got behind Thalia and tried putting her in a sleeper hold.

“You really need to shut up, now,” Batman said.

“ _You_ need to learn how to treat a lady,” Thalia reached over her head, grabbed Batman, and threw him, sending flying against a cop car.

Batman fell to the ground after hitting the car. Surprised, he looked and shouted, “Again, what the hell?!”

“She’s really strong,” Vixen said, stepping in front of Batman.

“Yeah! I gathered that!” Batman pushed himself up. “What is her deal?”

“Honestly, we’ve never been able to figure that out.” Vixen looked over her shoulder, and introduced herself, “Vixen.”

“I figured. Batman.”

“Good to finally meet Runner’s brother,” Vixen looked back at Thalia. “He speaks highly of you.”

“Same for all of you.” Batman glared at Thalia. “How do we shut her down? Actually, shut her up.”

“Got anything that can cover mouth?”

“Besides my fist in her teeth?”

Vixen smiled.

Batman clicked off a capsule from his utility belt. “I got something.”

Vixen charged at Thalia, who screamed in response. Vixen jumped over the soundwave while Batman threw the capsule the burst into a blue gel that covered Thalia’s mouth. With her mouth covered, Vixen took the opportunity to punch Thalia a few times to knock her out.

Having taken down the choppers, Outlaw and Plastic Man came over to Vixen and Batman with Batman tying up Thalia.

“Wow,” Plastic Man whispered. “It’s really him.”

“Batman?” Outlaw asked.

“Good to meet you, guys,” Batman said.

“What are you doing in Paris?”

“Following a lead.”

“Oh!” Outlaw leaned his head to the side. “How come you didn’t call?”

“Didn’t have a lot to go on,” Batman said. “Didn’t want to bring you in on nothing.”

“Okay,” Vixen said. “But what…”

They heard a loud rush of wind fly through the sky. They all looked to see a large mobile suit of armor slowly landing toward the ground.

“I’m having so many Mega Man flashbacks right now,” Batman whispered.

The mobile armor touched down on the ground.

“Hello, Justice League,” Malum said, echoed from the loud speakers on the suit.

“Malum?!” Outlaw shouted.

“Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me!” Batman growled.

“Where’s Koutetsu, bastard?!” Vixen shouted.

“I wish I knew,” Malum admitted. “So, I could kill him, too.” He paused. “Batman? What are you doing here?”

“Wanted to check out the sights,” Batman responded. “Plus, I heard Paris had a rat problem. I thought I could help out.”

“Oh, there are rats,” Malum said. “And I plan to drown them all right now!” The arm of the armor raised, revealing a large cannon, which fired on the heroes.

Batman and the League dispersed as the shot detonated where they had just been standing. Batman landed hard on the ground as the League jumped into action.

Batman shook his head, “This, at no point, counts as a vacation.” He looked down a nearby alley to see someone standing with a sniper rifle.

It was aimed at Plastic Man.

Batman activated his jets and tackled the sniper to the ground. They struggled until Batman managed to subdue the sniper. Batman dismantled the rifle then handcuffed the sniper. Batman picked up the sniper and pushed him against the wall. “Who are you?!”

“Let me go, you son of a bitch!” the sniper shouted.

“Why are you targeting the League?”

“You’re not supposed to be here!”

Batman stopped. “What did you just say?”

An explosion occurred behind them, throwing both Batman and the sniper back. The sniper hit his head on a wall, knocking him out. Batman looked up to see that the explosion came from another blast from Malum’s armor. Batman made sure the sniper was down then flew at Malum. Batman flew up into the sky, pulled out a few explosive batarangs, and threw them at the armor, causing them to detonate on impact. The armor stumbled backwards and crashed to the ground. Batman threw another batarang the lodged itself into the metal frame and short-circuited the armor.

Batman landed on the armor and looked through the glass of the cockpit to see a black haired Malum wearing a grey power suit. “You can get out of this thing or I can rip you out! Pick one!”

“You don’t belong here, Batman!” Malum shouted. “This isn’t your fight yet! You’re only delaying the inevitable.”

“Ain’t the first time. Sure as hell won’t be the last!”

“We’ll see about that!” Malum’s image suddenly disappeared from the cockpit.

“WHAT?!” Batman ripped off the canopy and inspected the inside. He checked the seat of the cockpit and realized it wasn’t even slightly depressed.

No one was ever in the armor.

“A hologram,” Batman whispered. He growled, “Oh, what the _hell?!_ What is all this, man?!”

“ _Are you alright?_ ” Bruce asked over the communicator.

“I’ve felt worse. Malum was never here. It was a hologram.” Batman unclipped a device from his belt and attached it to the control panel, “It must’ve been remote operated.”

“ _I’ll scan the armor and see if I can get a signal._ ”

“Do that. But Bruce… I get the feeling that they expected me to be in Gotham.”

“ _What do you mean?_ ” Bruce asked.

“I don’t know, can’t say for sure,” Batman replied. “But Malum did say that ‘this isn’t your fight yet.’ And I would like to know what that means. But…”

“ _Hold on. Basem’s calling._ ”

“Take it. I’ll get back to the League.”

“ _Fine. Call me when you learn more._ ”

“You got it.”

* * *

**_Gotham City._ **

Bruce answered the call from Nightrunner, “What is it?”

“ _You need to call Terry!_ ” Runner said.

“Why? What happened?”

“ _I just ran into Tumulus and the Graves!_ ”

“The Graves?”

“ _It’s what he’s calling his team! That doesn’t matter! Tumulus said that my friends in Paris aren’t safe. You need to call…_ ”

“Terry just called a minute ago,” Bruce said. “There was an attack on the League. Malum was there but only in hologram form.”

“ _Oh, my God,_ ” Runner said, breathlessly. “ _What…_ ”

“It’s fine,” Bruce said. “The League made it out alive. Terry’s fine. I’m attempting to track Malum’s signal while Terry checks things out there.”

Runner paused to gather himself then he growled in frustration, “ _Bruce, what the_ hell _is going on?!_ ”

“I haven’t the slightest idea. But, more and more, it’s looking like you’re the target.”

* * *

**_Paris._ **

After a fruitless search for Malum and Thalia, who also escaped during the mayhem, Batman accompanied the League to the police station to help with the rescue efforts. It took about an hour to make sure all the people were clear. Once they were done, the group met in the front entrance of the station.

“The last of the officers is on their way to the hospital,” Plastic Man said.

“Number of deceased?” Vixen asked.

Plastic Man sighed. “Eight… so far.”

“God…”

“What a mess,” Batman said.

“Hey, look, I don’t want to change the subject,” Outlaw turned to Batman, “but what are you doing here?”

Batman stared at them, deciding to either tell them a lie or the truth. He made a choice. “We’ve been having a few attacks in Gotham. A lot of evidence has been pointing to the Paris branch of Interpol.”

“Attacks?”

“Yeah. And that sniper and Malum said I wasn’t supposed to be here. I’m starting to think that the target of the attack was the three of you.”

Vixen was taken aback, “Us?”

Batman nodded.

“What evidence do you have about any of this?” Outlaw asked.

They heard someone approach and looked to see Le Grande approaching.

“Well, here comes one now,” Batman said. He walked past them and met Le Grande halfway, “Commander.”

Le Grande stopped and examined at the destruction. He slowly shook his head, “This is horrible.”

“Understatement of the night.”

Le Grande looked at Batman, “Do you think this has anything to do with you coming by tonight?”

“I’d bet my house on it.”

“I’m headed to my office now. This can’t wait for the morning. You’re welcome to meet me there.”

“Thanks, Commander,” Batman replied.

Le Grande nodded, turned, and left.

“What was that about?” Plastic Man asked.

“The trouble,” Batman answered. “I’ll let you guys know when I know something.”

* * *

Batman and Le Grande went to the Gendarmerie headquarters and, after getting to his office, Le Grande had a look at his records.

Le Grande shook his head, “This doesn’t make any sense. These are my signatures, but… I didn’t make any of these orders!”

“How did your name get on them?” Batman asked.

“I don’t know. I mean, it’s look like these orders came from me, from this computer! But they didn’t!”

“Mind if I give it a shot?”

Le Grande nodded and got up from the chair. Batman sat down and unclipped a small flash drive from his utility belt. He plugged the drive into the computer, pressed his fingers to his ear, and asked, “You in?”

“ _Getting there,_ ” Bruce said over the comms.

“Is there a communication device in your mask?” Le Grande asked.

“Yeah,” Batman responded. “Wild, right?”

“That’s clever.”

“Isn’t it, though?”

“ _I’ll take that as a compliment,_ ” Bruce said. He was silent for a while as searched through the computer. “ _Terry._ ”

“Yeah?” Batman asked.

“ _Ask Le Grande where Bellerose has been and to show you Bellerose’s computer._ ”

Batman seized up. “Whoa, hold on. Do you…”

“ _Ask him,_ ” Bruce ordered.

Batman sighed and looked at Le Grande, “Commander, where’s Stephen Bellerose?”

“Bellerose?” Le Grande replied. “He’s in Strasbourg on assignment.”

Batman pulled the flash drive, “Where’s his computer?”

Le Grande was confused by that, “Uh, right this way.” He led Batman to a corner office and let him inside. Batman had a look around and saw a picture hanging on the wall. It was a picture of Stephen with his arm, lovingly, draped across the shoulder of a young blonde woman.

“Who’s this?” Batman asked. It was a ruse as he instantly knew who the woman was.

“Oh,” Le Grande said. “That’s… Marie. That was, um, Stephen’s one true love. Uh… she was a hero. Codename: White Rose. She… died a few of years ago.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. What happened?”

“Long story short, it all comes down to an explosion.”

That caught Batman’s attention. “What’s the long version?”

Le Grande shrugged, “That’s the thing: there’s a lot of different versions. Why she was there, the reason for the bombing, that sort of thing.”

“You don’t even know who killed her?”

“Reports came down to the terrorist group, Kobra. They’d been fighting the League with the ferocity to a small war when it happened. After Rose’s death, the League dismantled Kobra’s operations in France in no time.”

“Damn,” Batman mused. “Mind if I can see that file?”

“Not at all,” Le Grande replied. “I’ll get it for you after we’re done here.”

“Thanks.” Batman sat down at the computer and plugged the drive in.

“ _Accessing,_ ” Bruce said.

While Batman waited, he looked at Le Grande. “Did you know Marie?”

“I knew White Rose,” Le Grande answered. “She was a hero. A fine young woman. Close friends with Nightrunner.”

“Yeah. He talks about her from time to time.”

“He didn’t tell you what happened to her?”

“Doesn’t like to bring it up,” Batman answered. “Hardly at all.”

“I don’t blame him,” Le Grande replied.

“Did you know Marie’s brother?”

“Rene?” Le Grande shook his head, “Personally, just barely. As much as he would let me learn about him. After he was arrested and sent to prison, I went with Stephen to help try talking to the poor boy, but Rene just shut down. His life and how it ended was another tragedy.”

“Why was he in jail?” Batman asked.

“You name it. Assault and battery, multiple counts of trespassing, theft, vandalism. Trust me, he was trying to get arrested and thrown in prison. He’d taken his sister’s death the hardest out of everyone. Such a tragedy. He seemed like an ordinary kid up until then. He was a model student, had spectacular grades, and could’ve gone to any school he wanted, but, after Marie died, he went off the deep end.”

Batman paused, remembering his own past. “Yeah. That happens sometimes.”

“It was so sad. Stephen did everything he could to keep Rene out of prison. Rene did everything he could to get himself thrown in.”

‘ _And a few months after Stephen’s last connection to Marie dies, Tumulus shows up,_ ’ Batman thought to himself. ‘ _This isn’t looking good for him, Basem._ ’

“ _Terry,_ ” Bruce said.

“One sec,” Batman said to Le Grande. He pressed his fingers to his ear, “Got something?”

“ _There’s a worm in Bellerose’s computer that leads to Le Grande’s,_ ” Bruce explained.

“Wait, does that mean…” Batman asked, starting to worry immediately.

“ _Get to Strasbourg. Find Stephen Bellerose. Now._ ”


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I was asked a question about the League members I put in this story. More or less, the League members are based on their comic book counter parts. Vixen and Plastic Man are a lot like their comic counterparts. Outlaw is more of a hybrid between Red Arrow, Arsenal, and Vigilante. Yeah, I went a little crazy with him.

** Chapter 12 **

Batman rubbed his forehead, contemplating what he just heard from Bruce. He looked up at Le Grande, “It looks like I gotta go.”

“Did something come up?” Le Grande asked.

“Yeah, a _big_ something.” Batman wrote down an email address, using stationary on the desk. He handed the note to Le Grande, “Can you forward the information on Marie’s case to this address?”

“Certainly.”

“Thanks, Commander.” Batman rushed out of the office and hurried to the roof. He got on his communicator, “How am I getting to Strasbourg?”

“ _Change back at the hotel,_ ” Bruce replied. “ _I called in a favor. Someone’s going to give you a ride._ ”

“Nice.”

Minutes later, Terry was downstairs of his hotel, with his backpack over his shoulder, when he saw a car pull up. He leaned down to look inside and was surprised to see the driver. The man was a little older and had a few greys and wrinkles, but he was every bit of Basem’s father.

“ _Bonjour_ , Terry,” Bilal greeted. “It’s good to see you.”

Terry smiled. “Hey, Mr. Asselah. Good to see you, too.”

“Hop in.”

Terry got in and they drove off.

* * *

**_Gotham City._ **

Max was sitting on her couch, watching television, when she glanced at the clock. It was just after 10 at night in Gotham, which made it somewhere around 4 AM in France. She wondered how Terry was doing and wondered if he was awake. She hadn’t turned on the news. Part of her didn’t want to know.

A bigger part did.

She picked her cell phone and called Bruce.

“ _Wayne here,_ ” Bruce answered.

“Bruce, hi,” Max said. “It’s me.”

“ _Hello, Max. Did you need something?_ ”

“Yeah, just… is Terry okay?”

“ _Terry’s fine. He’s headed for Strasbourg right now._ ”

“Oh. He got a lead?”

“ _We’ll see,_ ” Bruce replied.

“Cool.” Max sat in an awkward silence. “So, uh… how you been?”

Bruce smiled at hearing that. “ _You’re worried._ ”

“Is it that obvious?”

“ _Even if I wasn’t trying, that would’ve been obvious. Take a breath, Max. Terry’s fine. He’s with Basem’s father right now._ ”

“Oh!” Max said, surprised. “That… actually does make me feel better. I mean, Basem got it all from somewhere, right?”

“ _Right,_ ” Bruce agreed.

“Thanks, Bruce. And sorry. Didn’t mean to just call and bother you.”

“ _You’re welcome. And I’m used to it._ ”

Max laughed. “Hey, if I can do anything, seriously, let me know. I can do more than just… sit around and be pregnant.”

Bruce chuckled. “ _I know. If anything comes up, I’ll let you know._ ”

* * *

**_France._ **

After a couple of hours of being on the road, Terry realized he had dozed off, waking up with a sharp gasp.

“Are you alright?” Bilal asked.

“Yeah, yeah,” Terry stretched. “I’m so sorry. Don’t know what happened there.”

“ _C’est bien_ , Terry. You’re tired. I understand. Better to sleep now then when you’re life is tantamount on being awake.”

“And how.” Terry exhaled and sat back. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Bilal said.

“You sure this isn’t too much trouble?”

“Not at all. It’s been awhile since I’ve had the thrill of the late nights.”

“And Mrs. Asselah?”

Bilal chuckled, “Well… she’s not _as_ thrilled. Then again, our son is halfway around the world with people shooting at him on a nightly basis, but that’s another matter entirely.”

Terry chuckled.

“Besides, it’s an honor to be of any help to the man my son considers a brother.” Bilal looked over at Terry then back at the road, “To that end, if I’ve never made it clear, you can’t know what a relief it is to know my son has someone who he considers a brother. And one wants to honor that title at every given opportunity.”

“I think we’re both lucky on that one,” Terry said. “I think I’d be dead if it hadn’t been for him.”

“I still worry what would’ve happened to him, hadn’t it not been for you.”

“I’m sure all of this lately hasn’t helped a lot, with bringing all of this back up.”

Bilal shook his head, “I don’t even like to think about it. How he was when Marie died. All that happened afterward. He didn’t call for weeks, I didn’t see him, just…” He shook his head. “Marie died and it’s like my son died, too. Probably because Marie and Rene were as close to siblings he had until…”

Terry leaned back and whispered, “Until me.”

“I pray you can solve this quickly, Batman. I do not wish to see my son fall further into despair.”

“Mr. Asselah, the absolute last thing I’m going to let happen is him falling any further.”

A ringer went off in the car as a call came through.

Bilal answered the video phone and an image of Bruce came through. “ _Bonjour_ , Bruce.”

Bruce smiled, “ _Good evening, Bilal. Thanks again._ ”

“My pleasure.”

Bruce looked at Terry, “ _Bellerose may not be in the Gendarmerie, but you need to get to his computer._ ”

“And?” Terry asked.

“ _I need access to it. Even if he’s not there, I’ll try to find a trace of his computer worm._ ”

“Got it.”

After another half hour, Terry and Bilal were in Strasbourg. Bilal parked not too far from the Gendarmerie office and they got out of the car and had a look around. Strasbourg wasn’t as flashy as Paris but it was a beautiful city, all the same. There weren’t as many people out and about, either, but it certainly wasn’t a sleepy town.

“Given the hour, the office would only have a small staff right now,” Bilal noted.

“Not surprising.” Terry stared at the Gendarmerie, “I’d better head inside.”

“I’ll wait here for you. Be careful, _abn ‘akh_. This is all seems to be… orchestrated.”

“You got that, too?” Terry grabbed his backpack and closed the car door. He smiled, “And… thank you.”

“It was my pleasure.”

“Not just for the ride.” Terry looked at Bilal, “I know what _abn ‘akh_ means.”

Bilal smiled. “You are my son’s truest friend and brother. I would have no problem considering you a son. But… it would seem you have fathers who fill that role perfectly well.”

“Yeah. I do.”

Bilal’s smile slowly faded. “Be careful, Terry.”

Terry nodded and headed for the Gendarmerie.

* * *

Back in uniform, Batman entered the Gendarmerie office through the rooftop staircase. He made his way down to the offices, finding them to be the same as the ones in Paris. He had himself a look around, before finally finding a desk reserved for temporary agents.

“You there?” Batman asked into his comms.

“ _We both are,_ ” Bruce said.

Batman stopped and let out a sigh. “Hey, B.”

“ _Hey, Ter,_ ” Basem said.

“Saw your dad.”

Basem paused. “ _How’s he doing?_ ”

“Fine. Worried about you. Call him. He’s a great guy.”

“ _Yeah, he is. I’ll call him._ ”

“Good.”

“ _Why are you in Strasbourg and at a Gendarmerie?_ ” Basem asked.

“All of the secrets you have and you couldn’t keep _that_ from him?!” Batman asked, directing the question at Bruce.

“ _He wouldn’t leave,_ ” Bruce said.

“Oh, God!”

“ _One of you better answer,_ ” Basem said.

Batman sighed, “Look, man, it’s…”

An explosion rocked the entire building. Batman was thrown back and out of a window, just barely catching himself by hanging on to the windowsill.

“ _Terry!_ ” Bruce shouted.

“ _What happened?!_ ” Basem shouted.

Batman grunted as he pulled himself back into the building and saw that innards of the office were in flames. He looked around trying to find any survivors but didn’t see or hear anyone.

Until one figure walked through the fire.

Tumulus.

“Oh, hell,” Batman whispered.

“Honestly, I’m surprised you’re here, Batman,” Tumulus said. “I thought Nightrunner would come to France before you.”

“He wasn’t feeling well,” Batman replied. “Bad allergies. Probably allergic to your bullshit.”

“He seemed fine when I saw him in Gotham.”

Batman’s eyes widened. “You were in Gotham?”

“Just a few hours ago,” Tumulus replied. “But then I heard you were skulking around France. I thought I would take this opportunity to give you one last chance to back out of this fight. If you don’t, you’ll find yourself suffering the same fate as him.”

“Fine by me. Don’t mind dying alongside a friend.” Batman rushed at Tumulus and threw a punch.

Tumulus reached out and stopped the punch, easily. “How do you know? You’ve never died alongside a friend before.” He started to apply pressure to Batman’s hand, “I have.”

Batman quickly threw a capsule in Tumulus’s face, causing the blue gel to explode and encase Tumulus’s face and forcing Tumulus to release Batman. Batman backed up, activated his rocket boots, and tackled Tumulus. They crashed through a few walls before landing in another office. Tumulus threw Batman away of him, got up, and ripped the gel off of his mask.

“Well, that didn’t work,” Batman whispered.

Tumulus looked at Batman and scoffed. “Fine. If you’re so determined to die… then die.” He lifted his foot and slammed it into the floor, causing it to collapse.

Batman fell to the floor below, groaning as he did so. He started to get up, “What’d that really…”

Another explosion went off, surrounding Batman in a ring of fire as the entire room was set ablaze.

“I just _had_ to ask!” Batman looked up at the whole he just fell through, saw no sign of Tumulus, and used his rockets to launch himself through both floors and through the ceiling before being back in the night’s sky. He flew away from the Gendarmerie and to a nearby rooftop, falling to his hands and knees to catch his breath.

“This has been one long ass night,” Batman said.

“ _Terry, report!_ ” Bruce shouted.

“Can you not scream?! I’m here! Damn!” Batman pushed himself up and looked at the Gendarmerie building as the flames consumed the top two floors and started to spread to the rest of the building. “My God,” he breathed out.

“ _Rescue crews are already on their way,_ ” Bruce said. “ _Get back to Bilal. There’s nothing more you can do tonight._ ”

“Yeah, yeah.” Batman ended the communication. He stared at the destruction Tumulus caused and felt his blood pressure rising. He took a deep breath. “Okay. _Now,_ I’m mad.”

* * *

While Terry and Bilal headed back to Paris, Bruce and Basem monitored the rescue efforts. Fortunately, there weren’t any casualties but there were at least a dozen injured.

“They’re covering their tracks,” Bruce noted.

“The Gendarmerie,” Basem whispered. He looked at Bruce. “You think Stephen has something to do with this, don’t you?”

Bruce didn’t respond.

“Don’t you?”

Bruce looked away.

Basem started seething and shouted, “Answer me!”

Bruce, calmly, looked back at Basem, “We have our suspicions.”

“From the start! Right?! From the very beginning, you’ve suspected him!”

“Not the beginning. Terry didn’t, anyway.”

“But you did.”

“The attacks seem too personal,” Bruce said.

Basem let out a hard breath. “And you didn’t tell me?”

“We needed to confirm, first.”

Without another word, Basem walked away, put his mask on, got on his Nightbike, and sped off out of the cave.

* * *

Tumulus walked through the portal Troy created to get them back to Gotham.

Troy fell to a knee, “That’s a lot of magic for one evening.”

“Rest,” Tumulus instructed. “That’s enough for tonight.”

“Why did you need to see Batman?”

“I wanted to see exactly how determined he is. Clearly, he is very. I may have to break that spirit soon.”

Troy nodded and headed off to his cot.

Tumulus walked into the other train car to see Blaze, Blitzkrieg, and Flicker sitting around and talking. “Report,” he demanded.

“Well, o exalted one,” Blaze said, sarcastically, “looks like Runner’s back out on patrol. Don’t know if he heard about your little fistfight with Batman yet.”

“If he hasn’t, he will.”

“Malum is on his way to Gotham,” Blitzkrieg said.

“I already know,” Tumulus said.

“Why didn’t he just come back with you?” Blaze asked.

“For one, it was taxing enough for Troy to teleport me back and forth. Second, he’s having something else taken care of for me before he gets here.”

The trio looked at each other, perplexed.

“And that would be?” Blaze asked.

Tumulus turned around and began walking out of the train car, “Tying up some loose ends.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: "C'est bien": "it's fine" in French; "abn 'akh": "nephew" in Arabic.


	13. Chapter 13

** Chapter 13 **

**_Gotham City._ **

Bruce monitored all of the activity in Paris and Strasbourg, trying to find Stephen Bellerose. A phone call came through on the video phone from Bilal and Bruce answered, “Wayne here.”

“ _Bruce,_ ” Bilal said.

“How’s Terry?”

“ _Exhausted. He fell asleep as soon as I started driving._ ”

“I see.”

“ _How’s Basem?_ ”

“Not talking to me,” Bruce droned.

“ _Being angry and short with you._ ” Basem scoffed. “ _Family tradition, it would seem._ ”

“It would seem.”

“ _Have you found Stephen?_ ”

“No,” Bruce hit a few more keys on the computer and looked at another screen, “and I’ve been looking. After he left the office, he made a few more stops, nothing noteworthy, then headed back to his hotel. The problem is, he left, hours ago, and I haven’t been able to track him after that.”

“ _I just can’t believe he’s involved in this, Bruce,_ ” Bilal said. “ _Stephen was…_ is _Basem’s friend. Always had been._ ”

“We have to take in all possibilities, Bilal, especially if Basem is the target.”

“ _Oh, God._ ”

“You have to admit that it doesn’t look good.”

“ _Well, of course, it doesn’t._ ” Bilal sighed. “ _Just… do all you can._ ”

“That’s my plan,” Bruce admitted.

* * *

The next morning, Max fixed herself some breakfast and turned on the news. She then watched in horror as all that was being the covered was the attacks in France. She just stared at the screen as the name “Batman” popped up a few times.

She grabbed her cell phone and dialed Terry, immediately.

Terry answered and, groggily, answered, “ _Hello._ ”

Max breathed a sigh of relief, “Terry! Oh, my God, you’re alive!”

“ _Hey, baby._ ”

“What the hell is going on?! Are you okay?! What happened last night?!”

He groaned as he sat up. “ _Well, let me answer each question. I still have no idea. I’m okay. And a lotta shit._ ”

“What happened?”

“ _Well, Malum was here. Kinda. He was controlling a mobile powered suit that attacked the League and then Tumulus jumped me in Strasbourg. Yeah. Fun night._ ”

“And you still don’t know what’s going on?”

“ _Not yet._ ”

She sighed. She hated the sound of that. The irrational, selfish side of her came out before she could stop it. “Can you come home now? Please.”

He heard that side and agreed, wholeheartedly. “ _Almost. I just need to find Stephen Bellerose._ ”

“Who?”

“ _Basem’s old friend, Marie’s fiancé._ ”

“Oh, right! Yeah, I think Sally mentioned that name before.” Max stopped as a horrifying thought came to her. “Terry. Is he behind this?”

“ _That’s what I need to find out. That’s why I need to find him._ ”

She was silent for a few seconds. “I just want you to come home.”

Terry closed his eyes and rubbed his face. “ _Max. There is nothing I want more than to come home. You know that._ ”

“I know.”

“ _But I’m not done just yet._ ”

She exhaled. “I know.”

“ _Just give me another day. Then, I’ll be right back home._ ”

She paused. “But it won’t be over, will it?”

“ _Not yet,_ ” he admitted. “ _But it will be. I promise, Max._ ”

She nodded, “Okay. Uh… I’ll, uh… let you go.”

“ _Okay,_ ” he replied. “ _I’ll call you a little later._ ”

“Okay. I love you, Terry.”

“ _I love you, too, Max._ ”

Max ended the call and looked at the news coverage again. She couldn’t help the fear that was growing in her mind. She, absentmindedly, put her hand on her belly, slowly stroking it.

* * *

**_Paris._ **

After hanging up with Max, Terry sat on the edge of his bed and dropped his head into his hand. He was still in a fair amount of pain and was bruised all over, but that was nothing new. He got up, showered, cleaned himself up, then turned on the news. Reports about the attacks in Paris and Strasbourg were being covered with a lot of the credit of the attacks going to Malum.

Terry suspected Malum had a lot to do with this. But Tumulus was ultimately to blame. He had to find Bellerose to end this. His mind went back to Max. He wanted to go home to her but he had an investigation to finish.

‘ _The curse of being Batman, I guess,_ ’ Terry thought. His phone rang again and he answered, “Hello?”

“ _Up already?_ ” Bilal asked. “ _Just like the old man. It’s barely after four._ ”

Terry chuckled, “It’s his freakin’ conditioning.”

“ _I don’t doubt it. I want you to join Adeline and me for dinner at our home. I’ll have a car come pick you up in a couple of hours. Get some more rest for now._ ”

“Sounds good. Thank you.”

After a couple of hours of rest, Terry got up and got ready. A car came to the hotel and drove him to the Asselah house. It was a beautiful two story, white mansion in one of the more affluent neighborhoods of Paris. The house wasn’t anywhere near as large Wayne Manor but it was still a grand house.

Terry walked to the door and Adeline, Basem’s mother, met him at the door. She smiled, “Terry! It’s so good to see you!” She hugged him.

“Hey, Mrs. Asselah,” Terry smiled, hugging her back. “Good to see you, too.”

Adeline was a lovely woman who looked much younger than her actual age. She had a rather impressive voluptuous frame, was almost a foot shorter than Terry, had dark honey blonde hair, and light brown eyes. All of Basem’s facial features may have come from his father but it was clear his eyes came from Adeline.

She released the hug and motioned toward the house, “Please, come in.”

“Thanks,” Terry followed her inside.

The beauty of the outside of the house was matched, if not improved on, by the inside. There were some lovely decorations all around and everything was neat and in its place. They walked to the back patio where Bilal was seated at a table with dinner already prepared.

Bilal looked up from reading his paper and smiled, “Terry.”

“Mr. Asselah.” Terry held his hand up, “Don’t get up, don’t get up.”

“Such manners,” Adeline said. “Please, have a seat.”

“Thank you,” Terry pulled up a chair.

“Eat, Terry, eat. Bilal told me about the insanity you dealt with last night.”

“Insanity doesn’t even begin to cover it,” Terry replied.

“Well, we’ve made _boeuf bourguignon_ ,” Adeline explained. “Go ahead and fill your stomach. Crime solving and fighting works better when you’re not hungry.”

“Ain’t that the truth.” Terry ate a fork full of beef. After he pulled the fork away from his mouth, he stared at the plate.

“Problem?” Adeline asked.

Terry swallowed his food. “Yeah. Never… _ever_ … tell Max… how good a cook you are or how much I love this. She’ll never make dinner for me again.”

Adeline smiled. “I’m glad you like it.”

After the meal, Bilal and Terry cleaned up the table and the trio went and sat in the living room to talk. Terry recounted his hand-to-hand encounter with Tumulus, again amazed by the masked man’s strength.

“He certainly seems to rival Superman in power,” Bilal noted.

“I’d pay to see that arm wrestling contest.” Terry leaned back on the couch and looked at the ceiling. “It’s like… there’s something going on and I’m missing something.”

“I spoke with Bruce earlier. He said that hasn’t been able to find a trace of Stephen since last night. I hate to say that either he’s in danger or…”

Terry leaned forward, contemplatively, “Bellerose _is_ Tumulus.”

Adeline rose to her feet, quickly. “I just can’t believe that! I cannot!”

“Dear…” Bilal said, worried.

“Stephen is a good man!” Adeline said, pacing. “He was ripped apart by what happened to Marie, even more so than Basem. I can’t believe he would blame our son for this or commit any of these heinous crimes!”

“Sometimes, people hold irrational grudges, _chéri_.”

“Yes but still!”

Just then, a thought came to Terry’s mind. “Did he change at all after Rene died?”

Bilal and Adeline looked at Terry, inquisitively.

“Rene?” Adeline asked.

“Marie’s younger brother,” Bilal said. “You remember, wanted to be a superhero, too.”

“Yes, of course, I remember him. But, he died months ago.”

“Whoa, wait, hold on!” Terry exclaimed.

“What’s wrong?” Bilal asked.

“What did you say? About Rene?”

“He wanted to be a superhero. You didn’t know that?”

“No. Basem never talks about what happened to Marie. Just said that there was an explosion and she died.”

Bilal shook his head in disbelief, “Five years and he can’t trust _you_ with what happened?!”

“Bilal,” Adeline said, her turn to be concerned.

“No, Adeline! No! Him not talking to us? Fine! But, after all Terry’s done for him, he should be the first one Basem told all of this to!”

“Mr. Asselah,” Terry said. “It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not.” Bilal rubbed his head. “But… back to the matter at hand: I didn’t really see much of Stephen after Rene’s death.”

“Really?” Terry asked. He leaned forward, clasping his hands together and letting his mind consider all of the evidence.

“You have a theory, then?” Adeline asked.

“Nothing concrete,” Terry admitted. “Just… I think Bellerose is getting revenge for what happened to Marie and Rene. He’s blaming Basem for everything.”

Bilal exhaled. “That… sadly, does seem to be the case.”

“Seems to be.” Terry shook his head. “I need to talk to Le Grande.”

“Marquis Le Grande?” Adeline asked. “The commander of the Gendarmerie.”

“Yeah. He’s been helping me out a bit with this.”

“I know him. Let me give him a call. Maybe he knows where Stephen has gone.” Adeline pulled out her cell phone and dialed, taking a step away to talk to him.

Terry looked at Bilal, “How well do you know Bellerose?”

“He was Basem’s friend for the longest time,” Bilal admitted. “An honorable man, calm, composed.”

“When Marie was alive.”

“No, even after. Never seemed to be angry or unreasonable. He just distanced himself a bit.”

“Maybe he just hadn’t been set off yet.”

“Oh, _mon Dieu_!” Adeline shrieked, getting Terry and Bilal’s attention.

“Adeline?!” Bilal said as he and Terry quickly rose to their feet.

She slowly lowered her cell phone and looked at them. “Le Grande. He’s… he was killed. Just an hour ago.”

* * *

Minutes later, Terry, Bilal, and Adeline were standing outside of the Paris Gendarmerie building, which had been cordoned off with police tape. The body of Le Grande was covered by a yellow tarp. From what Terry, Bilal, and Adeline could gather, two gunmen in a black SUV were reported to have sped past the building just as Le Grande was about to go in and opened fire on him. He was gone before his body hit the ground. The police and the Gendarmerie were still looking for the SUV and the suspects.

“I’m gonna find these bastards,” Terry whispered.

“There’s nothing you can do here,” Bilal whispered back. “I’ll use all my sources and Bruce’s to hunt down these men. You must find Stephen. Whether innocent or guilty, he must be located.”

“Right.”

They heard someone scream and looked to see a young woman fighting against the police to get the body.

“Who’s that?” Terry asked.

“Vivian Le Grande,” Bilal answered. “The commander’s daughter.”

“I’ll go to talk to her,” Adeline said, leaving the two behind. She rushed past the police and went to grab hold of Vivian, who was still screaming and crying.

Terry felt like someone just punched him in the gut. “He didn’t even wear a costume. He wasn’t a superhero. And this happened.”

“He’s an officer of the law,” Bilal reminded. “It comes with the territory. The ones in danger aren’t just those of us who wear symbols on our chests.”

“I know.”

Bilal stared at Terry and leaned closer, to make sure only the two of them could hear their conversation. “You think this could easily be you and your daughter, yes?”

“Yeah,” Terry nodded.

“I can’t lie to you, Terry: it very well may be someday. It’s possible.”

Terry looked down at the ground.

“But will you let that stop you?”

Terry looked at Bilal.

“Will you let that keep you from making the difference only you can make? It is dangerous. But I can say you’ve made a difference. I see it and hear it whenever I speak to Basem. And how many other sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, were able to go home because of you?”

Terry looked back at Vivian being held by Adeline as Vivian cried over her father.

“It’s the risk we take,” Bilal reminded. “But we also make a difference. You make the difference. You _are_ the difference.”

Terry knew it was the truth. He knew being able to grow old with Max and Grace and any other possible children he may have wasn’t a guarantee. Bruce lived to an old age but not for lack of trying for the contrary.

But that didn’t matter. Terry had a job to do. And as long as he could fight, he would.

Terry’s phone rang and he saw it was Bruce. He answered, “Did you find Bellerose?”

“ _Yes,_ ” Bruce answered. “ _He just boarded a plane._ ”

“Can I catch it?”

“ _No, it already took off._ ”

Terry looked at Bilal, “Bellerose is on a plane.”

Bilal looked at Terry, curiously, “Going where?”

Terry got back on the phone, “Where’s he headed?”

“ _That’s just it,_ ” Bruce replied. “ _He’s headed here._ ”

Terry’s eyes went wide. He slowly lowered the phone.

“Where’s he going?” Bilal asked.

Terry looked at Bilal, “He’s on his way to Gotham.”

Bilal silently gasped as panic took over. “You need to get home,” he declared.

“Yeah, I do.” Terry looked at Vivian as she continued to cry. “Can you book me a quick flight?”

“Absolutely.”

* * *

Bilal and Adeline booked a private jet for Terry through Adeline’s company. They pulled up on the tarmac to the private plane and got out of the car. Terry grabbed his bags from the trunk and Bilal and Adeline looked at him just before he got to the plane.

Terry smiled, “You’re both gonna tell me to look after Basem.”

“Actually, no,” Adeline said. “If we had to tell you that, we wouldn’t trust you. You’ve already looked after him, Terry. You always have. I know you always will.”

“We’re going to tell you to look after yourself and your family,” Bilal said. “I know what I told you before, but, just because it could end like that for you as it did for Le Grande, doesn’t mean that it will. It doesn’t mean that it has to.”

Terry nodded, “Here’s hoping.”

“Don’t just hope. Fight with all your might, Terry. Your daughter will need you, Max will need you.”

“Max would be fine without me.”

“Just because she’s strong on her own,” Adeline said, “doesn’t mean that she wants to be. She _is_ strong on her own. She’d much rather be strong with you.”

Terry smiled. “I can relate to that.”

“Yes, I can tell you can. You have to be a particular kind of strong to deal with my son. Look at his father.”

“You wound me, my love,” Bilal said.

Adeline smiled.

“I’ll take care of all of them,” Terry declared.

“And yourself,” Adeline insisted.

“But don’t worry about Bruce,” Bilal said. “If Darkseid couldn’t kill him, nothing will.”

Terry laughed. “You got that right.”

Adeline stared at Terry then wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. “Please, be careful.”

Terry hugged her back. “I will.”

After Adeline released the hug, Terry and Bilal shook hands before the elder pulled the young hero into a hug.

“Watch yourself out there, _abn ‘akh_ ,” Bilal said.

“You got it.”

Terry boarded the plane and, minutes later, he was back in the air, heading back to Gotham.


	14. Chapter 14

** Chapter 14 **

Sally walked into Wayne Manor, having just got out of class, and headed for Basem’s room. She opened the door and didn’t find him there. Again. It wasn’t uncommon nowadays; he always out searching for Tumulus, the Graves, or any clues as to what was going on. It was starting to worry her. She went to her room and set her stuff down then walked around the house. She walked into the main living room and looked at the portrait of Thomas and Martha Wayne.

Sally gazed at the portrait, feeling like she was staring right into the souls of the long-deceased Waynes. She was so lost in it that she didn’t even notice Bruce walk in.

“If you’re asking how I ended up like this,” Bruce said, getting Sally’s attention and causing her to turn around, “the answer is… don’t bother asking. No one’s been able to.”

“That wasn’t was I thinking,” Sally admitted.

“Oh?”

“I was thinking that… would anyone react any differently at your age? I mean… they died right in front of you.”

Bruce walked up next to her and stared at the portrait.

“If more people knew what motivated you,” Sally said, “I wonder if they would judge you as harshly.”

“Some know,” Bruce said. “And still do.”

“Then that’s not fair to you, Bruce. Hell, I even get why you end up alone. I have my whole family and if even _one_ of my brothers were killed in front of me… I don’t know what I would do.”

“You’d have everyone else around you to keep you going.”

“Weren’t you alone?”

He paused. “No. I had Alfred. But, as usual, I never appreciated him as much as I should have. I seemed to make a habit of that over my life.”

She smiled, “Well, if Alfred knew you like we do, which I’m guessing is about a hundred times more, then I’m sure he understood. The others… they probably just didn’t get how deep the trauma runs.”

He looked at her and smiled. “You’re rather observant, Sally.”

She shrugged, “My mom always said I could work for the FBI, if I didn’t make it as a doctor.”

“It seems she was right. By the way, Terry is on his way back. Should be landing in a couple of hours.”

Sally gasped and started to panic, “Is he okay?! What happened in Paris?”

“He’s fine,” Bruce answered. “And a lot.”

Sally settled down. “It’s not over yet. Is it?”

“No. Not even close.”

* * *

A couple of hours later, Max was sitting in bed, watching television, when saw her phone light up and Terry’s name on the screen. “Hello?”

“ _Just wanted to let you know,_ ” Terry said, “ _I’m about to walk in._ ”

She gasped. She got up, got downstairs, and walked to the door, just as it opened and Terry walked in. Max stared at him for a few seconds before running at him, throwing her arms around his neck. He hugged her in return, being careful not to squeeze her too hard.

“You have no idea how freakin’ happy I am you’re home,” Max said.

“I have a few ideas,” Terry replied.

She pulled back from hugging him and kissed him with all she had. He returned the kiss with equal passion. After the kiss, she stared at him and she could tell: he was happy to be home and with her.

But.

“It’s not over, is it?” Max asked.

Terry knew better than to lie. “Not yet.”

“What happened?”

“Stephen Bellerose is somewhere in Gotham.”

Max knew that wasn’t good at all. “Are you gonna tell Basem?”

“Yeah.” Terry stopped. “With that in mind… Max, I…”

She already knew what he was going to say. “But, Terry, you just got home.”

“I know!” he pleaded. “I know and I wouldn’t do this if it wasn’t necessary. You know that!”

She wanted to argue, protest, or guilt him into staying home, but she knew better. He wasn’t trying to make all this happen, and Basem needed him. Gotham needed him. She let her good sense take over and nodded. “Then what are you waiting for?”

She understood like he knew she would. It made him feel even worse. “Max…” Terry said.

“Go, Terry,” Max said. She gave a small smile. “It’s okay.”

He knew this hurt her but it was killing him, too. But, like her, he had to let his better judgment take over. He kissed her. “I love you more than you’ll ever know.”

“I love you, too. Get going.”

He kissed her cheek and hurried out of the door.

* * *

Minutes later, Terry arrived at the Manor and walked inside. He was almost to the study when he saw Sally headed that way as well.

Sally gasped, “Terry!”

Terry smiled, “Sal, you have no idea how good it is to see you.”

“Right back at you!” Sally ran at Terry and hugged as tightly as she could. “I’m so glad you’re home.”

“Ditto.”

She released the hug, “Did you…”

“Max was my first stop.”

“Smart man.”

“I do enjoy being married.”

Terry and Sally walked into the study to find Bruce sitting there.

Bruce looked up and came as close to sounding relieved as he could. “It took you long enough to get back,” he said.

Terry smiled. “Had to go see Max first. And I missed you, too, Bruce.” He looked around, “Where’s Basem?”

“Almost here.”

“You find Stephen?”

“No. The second his plane landed, he disappeared.”

Terry’s eyes widened, “Oh, that ain’t good.”

“Whoa, hold on,” Sally said. “Stephen? Bellerose?”

Terry sighed, “Yeah.”

Sally chuckled, nervously, “Wh-why are you looking for him?”

Terry turned to Sally, “B didn’t tell you?”

“He won’t talk about this much.”

“Wish I could say I was shocked. We think Stephen has something to do with this.”

Sally stared at Terry, blankly. “Are you shitting me right now?”

“Wish I was,” Terry admitted.

Just then, the grandfather clock slid back and Basem emerged from the cave.

Sally saw Basem and walked right up to him, “Stephen’s a suspect and you didn’t tell me?!”

Basem sighed. “It’s because I don’t believe it. He could be framed.”

“Yeah but still…”

“I know, Sally. I’m sorry but not right now.” Basem walked past her and went over to Terry, “Welcome back.”

They hugged, Basem patting Terry on the back.

“Good to be back,” Terry said, as they released the hug. “You okay?”

“No,” Basem said. “How are my parents?”

“Good. Worried. They want to talk to you.”

“I’ll call them, soon,” Basem said. He stopped, “Is it true about Commander Le Grande?”

Terry nodded, solemnly, “Yeah.”

Basem exhaled, shaking his head. “He was a good man.”

“He was.”

Basem gathered himself and looked at Bruce and Terry, “So, where are we? What are we doing now?”

“Looking for Bellerose,” Bruce said.

“Stephen,” Basem demanded.

“Call him what you want.”

Basem looked at Terry, “You were in Paris. Why aren’t…” His eyes widened quickly. “He’s here?!”

“Yeah,” Terry confirmed.

Basem folded his arms, “And neither of you told me!”

“This is not the time for this,” Bruce said. “We need to focus on finding him.”

“We better look for Malum, too,” Terry said.

Basem looked at Terry, curiously. “And why would we do that?”

“Call it a hunch, because I’m almost positive they’re working together.”

Bruce stared at Terry, contemplatively. “What makes you think that?”

Terry started counting on his fingers, “The attack on the Paris police station was used to draw the League out to kill one of them, Malum was there in hologram form, then, when I was in Strasbourg, Tumulus said that he was surprised to see me. Malum and his sniper both said I wasn’t supposed to be there, either.”

Bruce nodded, “I’ll expand the search.”

“What about Belle…” Terry stopped himself. “…about Stephen?”

“No transactions on his credits and no facial recognition from any cameras. Like I said, no sign of him anywhere.”

“Let me try to find him,” Basem said.

“No.”

Basem groaned, “Terry, will you talk to him? If I find Stephen, I can see what’s going on.”

Terry stared at Basem then looked at Bruce. He glanced over at Sally, who was also waiting for him to answer. Terry knew this was one conversation he didn’t want to have. But he needed to. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, “B… I… gotta agree with Bruce on this one.”

Basem’s face hardened, “What?”

“Believe me: that’s a not a sentence I like saying.”

Basem didn’t laugh nor did his expression change.

Terry figured that joke wouldn’t work, anyway, and he held his hand out in a defensive manner, “Alright. Let me explain…”

“Explain what?!” Basem shouted. “You’re trying to say Stephen’s involved in this?!”

“More and more, it’s looking like _he’s_ Tumulus,” Terry blurted it out. He really didn’t want to say that so soon but he’d already crossed into this minefield. He figured he better go all the way.

Basem stared at Terry in shock for a minute before shouting, “What the hell are you even talking about?! Stephen couldn’t be that monster! He’s not even a metahuman!”

“Oh! And what? That can’t change in a day?! Ket Gold was a human at first. Asshole human but he was normal. The next time we see him, he’s silver, damn-near a werewolf, and calling himself Fiend.”

Basem shook his head, “What are you even basing Stephen’s guilt off of?”

“All of the evidence _you’re_ ignoring!” Terry replied.

“The fact that you went to Paris doesn’t prove anything!”

“But the fact that Le Grande’s dead, someone tried to assassinate one of the League, and Tumulus jumps me and destroys a Gendarmerie building sure as hell ain’t working in his favor!”

“That doesn’t mean it was Stephen!” Basem defended. He was fighting the logic as best he could, “He… he couldn’t have done this! He wouldn’t have!”

“You don’t think that this is all _too_ coincidental?” Terry retorted. “Especially when you add Rene’s death, to the list?”

“And you honestly think Stephen could do this?”

“Maybe, maybe not. I don’t know. Never met the guy. But you gotta admit, it looks like he’s involved on some level. Maybe he’s not as over Marie’s death as you thought.”

Basem got right in Terry’s face, “Don’t you _dare_ go there, Terry. Stephen could never do anything like this! He’s my friend.”

Terry gazed into Basem’s eyes and calmly replied, “I said the same thing once. About Charlie Bigelow.”

Basem stood, aghast, that Terry would make such a comparison. His anger came back to the surface. “I’m gonna tell you this once: Stephen isn’t Big Time.”

“You’re right. Looks like he’s way smarter.”

Basem stared at Terry a second longer then walked back into the Cave. Terry released the breath he was holding as the grandfather clock settled back in place.

Sally, slowly, sat down, “Oh, my God.”

“You can’t tell me you expected that to go any better,” Bruce said.

“Honestly, I was expecting him to hit me,” Terry replied. “So, yeah. That was way better than I thought.”

“He probably didn’t hit you because she was here,” Bruce pointed at Sally.

“Probably,” Terry sighed. “I better get ready for patrol.”

“Only for a couple of hours. If it’s quiet, go home.”

“You sure?”

“Yes. You’ve done well and, until we find Tumulus, Malum, or Bellerose, I don’t want you running yourself ragged.”

“Appreciate that,” Terry nodded.

Bruce stood up and headed for the cave, “I’m going to expand the search to include Malum.”

“Thanks, Bruce.”

Bruce went into the Cave and Terry looked over at Sally, asking, “Are you okay?”

Sally shook her head and looked at Terry, “I’m really not! Like, at all! This is too much, Terry. Is it really true that one of Basem’s best friends turned into a supervillain and now he’s trying to kill him?”

“Happens more often than you think.”

“What are we gonna do?”

Terry rubbed his face, “You’re in the family now, Sal. You’re gonna learn that, in times like this, there’s only thing you can do: carry on.”

Sally placed her hands over mouth then lowered them. “Terry… all this has me real nervous.”

“Trust me, Sally, you’re not alone.”

Sally stood up, “I’ll, uh… go see Max. Keep her company, look out for her. Ya know, the whole nine.”

Terry smiled, “Yeah. That’ll be good. Appreciate that.”

* * *

An hour later, Nightrunner was on the west side of Gotham when call came through. He answered, “I’m not in the mood to talk right now, Bats.”

“ _Tonight, Malum will be targeting Batman,_ ” an electronically distorted voice said.

Runner stopped his bike, in mid-air. “What was that?”

“ _I cannot speak much longer,_ ” the voice said. “ _I will try to meet you. I have much to tell you._ ”

“Who is this?”

“ _City Hall. Midnight. Be careful, Nightrunner._ ”

The transmission cut.

“Wait, who…” Runner realized that the signal was gone. He shook his head, trying to come to terms with this information overload. He got on his communicator, “Bruce. We have a have problem.”

* * *

Batman was on patrolling the eastside with his mind was all over the place, trying to think some way to piece together everything that had been happening. A call came through that broke his concentration.

“What is it?” Batman asked.

“ _We have a lead on Malum,_ ” Bruce replied.

“What?”

Bruce hit a few keys, “ _Go ahead, Runner._ ”

“ _Batman,_ ” Nightrunner said.

“What’s up?” Batman asked.

“ _I just got a call that said that Malum is going to attack City Hall. Tonight._ ”

“A call from who?”

“ _We don’t know,_ ” Bruce said. “ _The call came from a signal near a diner in Riverfront District. But I can’t trace where exactly._ ”

“And since we were told about it…” Batman said.

“ _It’s a trap,_ ” Runner concluded. “ _I was told for you._ ”

“Oh, I’m shocked,” Batman said, sarcastically. He sighed, “Well, there’s only one thing to do.”

“ _And that is?_ ” Bruce asked.

Batman grinned. “Spring the trap.”


	15. Chapter 15

** Chapter 15 **

Batman stood across from City Hall, keeping an eye out for any trouble. It was actually a quiet night and Batman didn’t realize until he got to stop and take it all in, how well he knew the city. And how much he loved it. After a few minutes, Nightrunner arrived, parking his Nightbike next to the Batmobile.

Runner walked up next to Batman, “Anything?”

“Nope,” Batman replied. “Maybe we got played.”

“Maybe.” Runner looked up and down the street then looked at Batman. He chuckled. “Man, it feels like forever since we were last on patrol together.”

Batman smiled, “I know, right? Like it’s been months instead of a few days.”

“We do live fast.”

“Let’s just prevent the ‘die young’ part of the phrase.”

“Noted.”

“I take it you saw your wife,” Runner said.

“Of course,” Batman said.

“How long were you in town before you came to the Manor?”

“Uhh, about thirty minutes.”

Runner stared at Batman, incredulously. “You went home to say ‘hi’ to her and left again?!”

“Well, when you put it _that_ way, it sounds bad!” Batman defended. “I mean, it is, but you didn’t have to put it that way.”

Runner rubbed his forehead, “And now Max’s mad at you, isn’t she?”

Batman exhaled, “Oh, relax! She’s fine. I talked to her. She understands.”

“That’s even worse! You’re about to be a father and I can’t keep dragging you into this!”

“Like you hell you can’t! This is both our fight, I don’t care who Tumulus is.”

Runner stared at Batman. “Thanks.” He looked down at the street. “Terry.”

Batman looked back over at Runner, worried. They tried not to use actual names when on patrol, but, in serious situations, it tended to slip out.

“I really don’t want it to be Stephen,” Runner admitted.

“I know,” Batman replied. “For your sake, I don’t want it to be him, either. But we won’t know until we find him.”

“I’m just nervous about what we’ll find.”

“Yeah. Me, too.”

They kept an eye out for another fifteen minutes when Batman caught sight of a trailer truck pulling up in front of City Hall.

“That look suspicious to you?” Batman asked, causing Runner to look at the truck as well.

The trailer opened up and group of a dozen armored soldiers flooded out of the truck and rushed toward City Hall, causing the crowd to scatter in fear.

“What the hell?” Runner said.

“You wouldn’t believe how many times I said that in the past couple of days,” Batman said.

They jumped down and landed on two of the soldiers before taking out a couple more. They kept fighting and took out the entire squad when a stream of fire rushed at the heroes, causing them to dodge out of the way. Batman and Nightrunner saw Blaze walking up to them.

“Miss me, boys?” Blaze asked, seductively.

“If we say ‘yes’, will you not try to kill us?” Batman asked.

“Sorry. You’re not my type.”

“Is it his tights?” Runner asked, pointing at Batman.

“Nah. More of the ‘hero’ thing.” Blaze formed a fireball, “Funny. Because, usually, I’m down for anything.” She threw the fireball that exploded right before it hit the heroes, throwing them back.

Batman landed hard and was reminded of something. The League attack in Paris. “This feels reaaaaaal familiar.” He looked around and saw Flicker standing on top of a car. “Yeah, trap! And I just _had_ to wanna spring it!”

Batman jumped and clotheslined Flicker just as he was about to attack the Dark Knight. Flicker got up and he and Batman began battling each other. Nightrunner charged at Blaze and kicked her in the face. Runner looked back to see Batman engaging Flicker and was about to turn to help when something struck him in the shoulder, electrocuting him.

Batman looked over at his brother, “RUNNER!” He was going to go help him he was kicked in the face by Flicker.

Runner fell to the ground as the current continued to surge through him. He was struggling to get up but saw a set of boots, slowly, approaching him. He looked up to see Tumulus was now standing over him with a woman wearing dark grey body armor standing next to him. She was holding a rifle, which told Runner that she was the one who fired the shot. She had short blonde hair and her eyes were dark grey. Runner knew her picture from the series of “Most Wanted” posters. Blitzkrieg.

“Everyone who stands with you will suffer,” Tumulus said. “Starting with…” He pointed back at the battle.

Runner looked to see Batman fighting Flicker and Blaze alone. “No,” Runner whispered. He tried to get up but Tumulus slammed his foot down on Runner’s back, keeping him in place.

Batman punched Flicker and just managed to dodge a fireball from Blaze. He saw Tumulus and Blitzkrieg standing over Runner. ‘ _Great. So they are working together._ ’ He ran at Tumulus and Blitzkrieg only for a wall of fire to surround him. “Oh, come on!”

Batman turned around and saw Flicker and Blaze approaching him.

“We’re not done yet, Dark Knight,” Blaze said.

“Yeah,” Flicker twirled a knife in his hand. “Why would you want a leave a party so soon?”

“Ya know, as much as I love parties,” Batman said, “I always seem to have to leave early.” He threw a gas ball, which exploded into mace that incapacitated the duo. Batman jumped over the fire and charged at Tumulus, who immediately reached out and grabbed Batman by the throat.

Batman struggled against Tumulus’s grip, managing to croak out, “I guess… that was… too much to hope for!”

“Your tenacity is actually impressive, Batman,” Tumulus admitted. “From America to France and back.”

“Just call me Mr. Worldwide,” Batman smiled.

“Not… the… time!” Runner wheezed out.

“Couldn’t help it.”

Just then, the police arrived on the scene, being led by Barbara. Barbara got on a megaphone, “Cease and desist all of this activity, at once.”

Tumulus looked over his shoulder. “Troy. Deal with them.”

Lord Troy appeared in a flash of light, hovering in the sky. He moved his hands before him, conjuring magic to summon a small squadron of skeletal corpses. The corpses rushed at the police, leading to an all-out attack.

“Don’t see that every day,” Batman whispered.

While Tumulus distracted looking at the battle, Batman thrust his feet against Tumulus’s chest, causing the villain to let go of Batman and get off of Nightrunner. Batman tried attack Tumulus, but Tumulus simply moved out of the way as Blitzkrieg began to open fire at Batman. Batman threw a batarang at Blitzkrieg, which she shot out of the air, but it exploded into a blue gel that covered her. Batman was going after Blitzkrieg, but Tumulus punched Batman across the cheek, stopping his advance. Tumulus grabbed Batman, picked him up, and hurled Batman against the truck the soldiers came out of, sending him into the trailer.

Nightrunner tried to get to his feet but found that it was still hard to move.

“You really should just stay down,” Tumulus said to Runner. “Or I’ll kill him. Painfully.”

“More than what you’re already doing?” Runner asked.

“The fact he’s alive this long should prove I respect him.”

Batman crawled out of trailer and looked at Tumulus, “So, what would you do if you _didn’t_ respect me?”

“Like I said, you’d already be dead,” Tumulus said.

Batman got his breath back and narrowed his eyes, “Like Le Grande.”

Tumulus remained silent for a while. “He was in the way.”

“Uh-huh. I’m gonna kick your ass now.” Batman activated his rocket boots, flying at Tumulus.

Batman tackled Tumulus, forcing him to the ground, then punching him across the face, repeatedly. Batman was positive the punches didn’t hurt Tumulus, but it felt good to finally hit the bastard. Tumulus stopped Batman’s fist before the next punch connected and threw him off of him. Batman got to his feet, and Tumulus swung at Batman over and over again, with Batman just able to dodge the punches. Batman uses his jets again to add extra force so he could uppercut Tumulus, taking Tumulus off his feet. Batman was going to attack again but stopped when he just barely dodged a bullet from Blitzkrieg’s gun, as she had gotten most of the gel off of her and aimed a clean gun at him.

“You will pay for that!” Blitzkrieg yelled.

“You’re not the first woman to say that to me,” Batman replied.

Batman looked to see Blaze and Flicker had recovered from his mace. Batman entered a defensive stance and saw Tumulus was getting to his feet.

“Well,” Batman said, “I wouldn’t be opposed to some help.”

Suddenly, a hooded-figure descended from the sky, striking the ground behind Blaze and Flicker and causing it to quake. The new fighter swept legs underneath Blaze and Flicker, knocking them down. Blitzkrieg tried to shoot the fighter but he rushed at her, dodged all of the bullets, and kicked her in the chin. Tumulus charge to attack the fighter but the fighter moved around Tumulus, kicked one leg out from under him, and flipped him over. The fighter backed up and stood in front of Batman.

Batman stared at him, blankly. “Uhh… okay. And you are?”

The fighter pulled his hood back to reveal he had a domino-style mask and medium-length black hair pulled into a _chonmage_ or samurai bun. “I’m Koutetsu,” he replied in deep, gravely voice.

Batman jerked his head back. “Oh. Hi. Everyone’s been looking for you.”

“Yes, I know. I’ve been busy.”

“I can see that.”

Tumulus stared at the returned hero, “Koutetsu.”

“We meet at last,” Koutetsu said. “Tumulus.”

“I knew you weren’t dead. You always were a slippery one.”

“Tell me who you are!”

“You don’t know?” Batman asked.

“I’ve been trying to uncover that very fact,” Koutetsu explained. “But no. I’ve never been able to get his name.”

“You will in time. And, when you learn my name, all of you will suffer.” Tumulus looked back at Nightrunner, “You will suffer because of him.” He called out to his ally, “Troy. Get us out of here.”

Troy looked at Tumulus, nodded, waved his hand, and, in a flash of light, the corpses broke apart and the Graves disappeared.

Batman got up, clutching his arm. “Boy, they sure know how to make an exit.”

Koutetsu turned to Batman, “Are you alright?”

“Mostly.” Batman looked at Runner, who was just starting to get up. “I’m more worried about him.”

Runner pushed himself up to his knees when Batman and Koutetsu walked over to him.

Runner looked up at Koutetsu and whispered, “Hayate?”

Koutetsu smiled, “Hello, _youjin_. It’s been sometime.”

“Yeah.” Runner was still in shock. He shook his head, “Tumulus. Who is he?”

“We better find out fast,” Batman said. “I got a feeling he’s not done yet.”

* * *

The Graves returned to their base. Once they were back in the train car, Tumulus began pacing, methodically. The rest of the Graves looked at Tumulus, curiously, since he hardly ever moved unless a fight was involved.

Blaze shrugged, “Okay, I’ll bite: what’s your problem?”

“Koutetsu being alive is the problem,” Tumulus said. “He’ll contact the League.”

“And Batman wouldn’t have done that?” Flicker asked.

“Historically, the arrogance of anyone bearing the mantle of Batman is thinking he can handle this city all by himself. Despite the numbers of enemies.”

“And you think this Batman is that stupid?” Blaze asked.

“Perhaps,” Tumulus said. “Regardless, we don’t need the rest of League here. In particular, those stationed in France. Koutetsu is enough.”

“Well, fortunately for you, we can keep them occupied,” Malum’s voice echoed. He walked into the train car with Thalia behind him. “Members of Thalia’s organization will keep them busy along with some associates of mine.”

“Fine,” Tumulus said. “But we won’t break Batman now. I can see that. He considers this as much his fight as it is Nightrunner’s.”

“Alright, then, what are we doing now?” Flicker asked.

“We play our ‘ace.’” Tumulus looked at Malum, “It’s time for them to cross paths with Stephen.”

With a smug smile, Malum nodded.

Tumulus looked at the others, “We show Nightrunner the true depths of his failure. Then… we break him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: "youjin": "friend" in Japanese


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16 **

Back at the Cave, Terry was lying on the table, while Bruce tended to the wounds Terry had endured during the battle. Basem was had mostly shaken off of the effects of the electrocution and, save for the bruises, he was fine. Hayate stood nearby with his arms folded.

“Well, I guess someone should say ‘welcome aboard,’ Hayate,” Terry said. “OW!”

“Stop being a baby,” Bruce said, having just started to sew up the last of Terry’s wounds. “And he’s right. Welcome to the club, Koutetsu.”

“Thank you,” Hayate nodded.

“Where have you been all this time?” Basem asked Hayate.

“After the initial bombings in Paris, I was knocked out,” Hayate explained. “When I came to, I found myself in the sewers, underneath the police station. It took me a while to dig myself out of the rubble. Once I did, I tried to get in contact with the League but the explosion destroyed my communicator. I was making my way to the League embassy when I found one of Malum’s soldiers following them. I subdued him to get a location for Malum. He was somewhere in Lyon, but he was gone by the time I got there. I took advantage of my missing status and began tracking him. He made it nearly impossible to pinpoint him, however. He likes to stay on the move and kept his next location a secret as much as possible. Though, that all changed when I learned he was coming to Gotham.”

“Why didn’t you tell the others?” Basem asked with a tinge of anger in his voice.

Hayate looked away in shame.

“He was keeping radio silence,” Bruce noted. “Standard tactic.”

Basem looked over at Bruce, “Yes. And look how well keeping things from your teammates has worked for you!”

“B,” Terry said, in a warning tone.

Basem grunted.

“I know it wasn’t the best decision, Basem,” Hayate admitted. “And I know Alex and Ari will be quite cross with me. But… it did enable me to get here and save you both.”

“I ain’t complaining,” Terry smiled. “Thanks for the save.”

“It was my honor.”

“You’re calling them!” Basem said. “In the morning!”

Hayate put his hands up in defense, “Agreed.”

Bruce finished the stitch and placed one more bandage on Terry, “Alright. You’re all done.”

“Thanks.” Terry slowly sat up, still in a lot of pain. “What are we doing next?”

“ _You’re_ going home and getting some rest.”

“Best news I’ve heard in three days. I’m not arguing with you about it.”

“I didn’t think you would.” Bruce looked at Hayate. “I wanted to know if we could impose on you to help us out.”

“To aid the original and current Batman along with Nightrunner?” Hayate bowed and rose up, “I would be honored, Wayne- _sama_.”

Bruce smiled and bowed, “ _Arigatou gozaimasu_.” He rose up. “But I’ll keep an eye out for the Graves. For now, everyone get some rest. And, Terry, go home.”

“Heard you the first time,” Terry said, moving off of the table. He stepped down on the floor and he sighed. “I’m really sleepy.”

“I’ll drive you home,” Basem said.

“Thanks.”

“Hayate,” Bruce said, “let’s share our intel.”

“ _Hai_ ,” Hayate nodded.

“Then call Alex, Ari, and Lance!” Basem ordered.

“I promise,” Hayate said.

Basem helped Terry up the stairs and, once they were gone, Bruce looked at Hayate, “He’ll get over it.”

“You’re more positive about that than I am,” Hayate admitted. “He’s not wrong, however. I should’ve tried to contact them.”

“You played it close to the vest. It happens. Don’t let Basem’s attitude get to you. He’s under a lot of strain right now. But, unfortunately, it’s going to get worse before it gets better.”

“Then let us if we can expedite that process.” Hayate pulled a flash drive from his pocket and handed it to Bruce.

Bruce nodded, “Let’s.”

* * *

That afternoon, Max went out to eat with Sally and Mel. It had been a long time since the three of them had done that. Max needed a good day out with family as her mind had been going 100 miles per hour while Terry was in France. But now Terry was home and, even though he was recovering from a night of fighting, that was enough for now.

Max met with Sally and Mel at the Blue Gale, the same restaurant where she had told them she and Terry got engaged. They were talking for a while when Mel noticed Max seemed a little downtrodden.

“Sis?” Mel asked.

Max looked at Mel, “Yeah?”

“What’s up? I don’t think you’re here with us.”

“I am,” Max sighed. “Just… got some stuff on my mind.”

“Like what?” Mel asked.

Max waved it off, “Nothing. It’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing. Come on, tell us. What’s up?”

Max debated going into detail, knowing there was a lot she’d have to withhold, but there was a lot she could say and it would be the absolute truth. “I’m nervous.”

Sally had a feeling she knew why, but it seemed like more than just the current supervillain issues.

“Terry’s back from his trip,” Max said. “And… I don’t know. I’m just nervous about all this.”

“Worried how?” Mel asked.

Max leaned forward, placing her elbow on the table and resting her chin in her palm. “It’s just… I know Terry’ll always be busy. He’ll probably have to take long trips like that again.”

“Oh, he wasn’t even gone a week,” Sally pointed out.

“I know but…” Max sighed. “He’s had to work a lot lately. Hardly got to see him.”

“So, what?” Mel asked. “It’s, like, the most amount of time you both have spent apart since you met. Anything else is just some transitional stuff. You’re noticing he’s busy now because you’re pregnant. Big deal.”

“I just…” Max stopped. “No, forget it.”

“No, what’s up?” Sally asked.

Max took a second before continuing. “I’ve just been nervous lately.”

“About?”

“We’re… getting close with the baby and… well, what if it gets to be too much? For Terry?”

Mel stared at Max, slowly narrowing her eyes.

“Are you for real, Max?” Sally asked, incredulously. “Come on!”

“I’m just saying!” Max defended. “I mean, we haven’t even talked about Paris yet. Maybe… maybe he enjoyed the single life, for real.”

“He’s just been on the move since he got back. Let him unwind and he probably won’t shut up.”

Max tried to smile but couldn’t. “I know it sounds crazy, but…”

“But what?” Mel asked, heatedly.

Max looked over at her, “Mel?”

“But what? Finish what you were going to say.”

Max was actually starting to become a little afraid. Mel seemed very angry. “Just…” Max began, “that… maybe all this would get to Terry and… I don’t know… maybe he’d… wouldn’t want to do this anymore and…”

“And he’d be like Dad, right?!” Mel asked, quickly and angrily.

Max stammered, “I-I, uh…”

“That’s what you were going to say, _right?!_ ”

Sally looked at Max, stunned. “You weren’t really thinking that. Were you?”

Max didn’t know how to answer.

Mel had to grab hold of the table to keep from getting up and hissed out, “You idiot! How dare you! You’re comparing Terry to Dad! Have you lost all parts of your mind?! I won’t let you do that to him! Are you hearing me right now?!”

Sally felt the rage Mel was filling the air with and tried to diffuse the situation. She tried to put a hand on Mel’s arm, “Mel, hold…”

Mel snatched her arm away, “Not now, Sal!” She focused on Max, “You don’t get how lucky we are! When Terry proposed to you, Dad came around raving like a lunatic, and Terry stuck around. Some guy tries to… take advantage of you, and Terry punches a tooth out of his skull. Me, Mom, and Dad _stupidly_ left alone for most of your high school life, and Terry was the only one you could count on, and you think that same man would _ever_ become Dad?! Dad didn’t even come to my wedding. You’ve got a prime quality man, Max! And you think Terry, of all the men on God’s green Earth, would turn into Dad?! Get that the hell out of your mind, do you hear me?!”

Max looked away, ashamed, then looked back at her sister, “Mel…”

Mel had tears begin to fall from her eyes, “You’re not! Okay! You’re sure, as hell, not going to compare Terry to being anything remotely like Dad! I don’t give a damn how scared you are! Until Terry cheats on you, abandons you, and outright says he never, _ever_ loved you, you don’t get to even come close to putting him and Dad in the same category!” She stopped to take a breath. “He takes such good care of you and loves you so damn much! I won’t let you forget that! Are you hearing me, right now?! I am _not_ going to let you do that!”

Max stared at Mel’s tears and her own started to form. Mel was right. Max was starting to hate herself for ever thinking that way.

“I’m…” Max swallowed the lump in her throat, “sorry. Mel, I’m sorry.”

“Apologize to Terry.” Mel wiped her eyes. “Don’t ever compare Terry to Dad again. There’s a lot Terry and Eddy have in common. First and foremost, they’re ten times the man Dad is. Or… was! I know he’s doing better now but whatever! Just… don’t do that.”

Max nodded. “Right.”

There was a long silence of tension. Max and Mel had no idea what to say to each other. They’d never really had a fight before. They tried their best to avoid them at all costs; they didn’t want to risk breaking apart over any small thing after all they’d been through. Part of Max was also impressed; Mel had never exploded on her like that before.

It honestly felt good to know Mel loved her enough to call her out on her crap.

Sally stared at them both, “Girls. We okay?”

Max looked at Sally then Mel, “I hope so.”

Mel took a deep breath. “Always, baby sister. I told you we’re always gonna be in this together. But I don’t want you getting afraid and losing something that’s been better for you than me, Mom, Dad, or anything else. I know being happy like this is hard and any one thing can make it look like the world is about to end, but… if the world is about to end, Terry is the one person would find a way to get you off of it and somewhere safe, no matter what.”

Max smiled. “Yeah. You’re right.”

“So… give the guy a break. If he’s working, it’s all for you.”

Max thought about that. “Not just me… but that’s only because…” Max looked at Sally, “a lot of people count on him.”

Sally nodded. “And how.”

Max looked at Mel, “You’re right, sis. I let myself be afraid.”

“You didn’t ‘let yourself’ do anything,” Mel corrected. “You got afraid and your mind went to a bad place. Comes with being a mom. I just had to bring you back. Besides, I still have fears. I mean… I get scared all the time. But not about Eddy. He’s worries enough about himself. I worry about me.”

“You?”

Mel nodded.

“Why?”

Mel stared at Max. “You do know I’m Joe Gibson’s child, too, right? I’m scared the ‘bad parenting’ gene is in here, too.”

“Well, he’s doing better,” Max shrugged.

Mel conceited that point, “Yeah, I know. But… I just never want to do what he did to us, either.”

Max put her hand on Mel’s arm, “You won’t.”

Mel smiled at her, “Thanks, baby sister.”

Sally looked at them and, while she was glad they were better, she had to speak her piece. She shook her head, “I’m sorry but you’re both full of crap.”

The sisters Gibson looked at Sally, puzzled.

Sally looked at Mel, “You’re worried you’ll pull a pre-revolution ‘Joe Gibson’? Please! If you were gonna do that, you wouldn’t still be around with Lita, and you and Max wouldn’t be this close. And, hell, Eddy, probably would’ve left you!”

Mel giggled and shook her head.

Sally looked at Max, “And _you!_ ”

Max jerked her head back.

“You have the nerve! Nay! The unmitigated _gall_ to accuse Terry of being a dreg!”

Max stared at Sally, blankly. “You didn’t seriously use the words ‘nay’ and ‘unmitigated gall’ just now, right?”

“Silence! Terrence McGinnis is the very pinnacle of a gentleman! And a darn fine man!”

Max shook her head, “Yeah, yeah, I know.”

“Then stop being a ludicrous duck! If you’re afraid of the future, I get it. But the last thing that’s gonna happen is Terry walking out on you. Ever. At all. No matter how hard his life gets.”

Max stared at Sally, smiling all the while. “‘Ludicrous! _Duck?!_ ’”

Sally smiled the widest grin she could. “Did it help?”

Max held her smile. “It always does.”

“Thanks, Sally,” Mel said.

Sally blew on her fingernails and rubbed them on her shirt, “It’s what I’m here for.”

* * *

Hayate and Bruce had just finished looking at their compiled data. After they were done, Bruce sat back, intertwining his fingers.

“Your thoughts?” Hayate asked.

“It’s starting to look like Tumulus and Malum have been working together for a while,” Bruce said. “But this seems like it’s all about revenge. Tumulus has made no qualms about the fact that he solely focuses on Basem, though he’s hardly attacked him directly at all.”

“How so?”

“In their interactions, Tumulus has only attacked Basem a handful of times and just barely. He’s gone after Terry more. Had he not openly declared war on Basem, I would almost think he was after Terry.” Bruce rubbed his chin. “We need more information.”

“I’ll do my best to find Malum,” Hayate said.

“That’s one way but I meant Basem, himself. It’s time he told us everything that happened on the day Marie died.”


	17. Chapter 17

** Chapter 17 **

After the ladies finished their meal, it was just after six when Sally dropped Max off at home. Max went upstairs and walked to her bedroom, finding Terry still asleep. She wanted to cry again. Mel was absolutely right; how could she ever let herself think Terry would abandon her and their child. He was the very last person on the planet who would do something like that to her.

Max sat down on the bed and started taking her shoes off.

Terry inhaled, sharply, and, slowly, opened his eyes. He looked at Max and smiled, “Hey, gorgeous.”

She smiled, “Hey.”

“How was your day?”

“Eventful.”

He yawned, “Yeah? I know the feeling.”

“Yeah, you do.” She stared at him. “Hey. I need to say something.”

He could hear it in her voice: this was serious. He looked at her, “If you’re leaving me, can it wait until tomorrow? I’ll do a much better job of convincing you not to.”

She smiled and shook her head, “It’s not that. It’ll _never_ be that.”

“So confident.”

“I am.” She smirked. “If I feel the need to leave, I’ll just kill you.”

He chuckled. “You would, too. What’s up?”

She became very somber and it took a second before she could speak. “I’m sorry.”

He looked at her, worried. “For what?”

“I got scared and, for the first and I swear to God only time in my life… I compared you to my dad.”

He pushed himself up. “Compared us how?”

She felt a tear starting to fall. “I thought that… with all this going on and it won’t ever really not be hard… b-but if this got too hard… you might… leave me.”

He sat up, fully.

“I mean, with everything happened in Paris and last night, you were in another fight and-and we’ve barely talked since you’ve been home. I…” She sighed. “I thought… maybe this would be too hard. With me, with a child, being a hero, maybe you would just think it would be easier if I wasn’t…”

She was silenced when his lips crashed into hers. She almost didn’t want to kiss him back because it felt too good, but she couldn’t fight her body and her heart as she returned the kiss. She still had tears falling though; she hadn’t forgiven herself for her foolish thoughts yet. They broke the kiss and stared at each other.

“I’m sorry I haven’t talked to you yet,” Terry apologized.

“I don’t think I deserved that,” Max said, looking away. “The kiss or the apology.”

“Like hell you didn’t. Max, do you honestly think there wouldn’t come a day that, on some level, you would compare me to your dad? I’ll admit, it happened a little sooner than I thought. I thought the baby would be here already but I get it.”

“What do you mean?”

He shrugged, “I was home for 20 seconds before I was already off to see Bruce then back in uniform. Then, me and B get into a street fight with the Graves and I slept all day. This, along with the fact that I actually went to Paris without you. By the way, we are _absolutely_ going there. You have to check that city out!”

She smiled a bit. “Deal.”

“But, it’s really okay, Max. All this… it would get to anyone.” Terry remembered his talk with Adeline before he left France. “You’re strong and you’re tough but we both have a chink in our armor. Ironically? It’s each other.”

“Yeah.”

“So… no worries.” He smiled.

Max looked at him, puzzled, then her classic tone of voice came back to her. “Why the hell are you so damn understanding? Can we, at least, have a normal fight where you get mad and threaten to leave me even once?”

He chuckled, “Is that what you want?”

“Of course not. But this isn’t normal! I compared you to my dad when he was lousy and you’re all ‘I love you, it’s my fault. Don’t worry, baby, I totally understand’! Even Mel bit my head off for that and you’re even kissing me after all that crap! God, it’s like you’re _too_ understanding! Will you be a normal human for once and be irrationally upset at me?!”

He laughed, “Max, if you wanted normal, you never should’ve dated me!”

“Okay, yeah, good point, but still! You could have some kind of normal reaction to my b.s!”

They both laughed at that.

“Well, deal with it.” He lightly touched her cheek. “We’ve had plenty of fights and we’ll have plenty more. You still hog the bathroom.”

“Because you spend too much time in the shower,” she smiled.

“Semantics. Anyway, we don’t need to fight over something we already knew was a thing.”

She looked away, “So, you don’t think I’m a bad wife for even thinking about that?”

“Why wouldn’t you?” he asked. “I’m a man, your husband, and about to be a father. And it’s not like Joe gave you a great criteria to start from. We’re younger than your parents were when they got married, right?”

“Right.”

“And, in case you forgot, I am Batman. That name, _alone_ , doesn’t have a good reputation when it comes to relationships. We’re not even gonna talk about the Batman rep of being a father. That might actually make you leave me.”

She scoffed and shook her head.

He shrugged, “So, it makes sense. It’s a fear, Max.”

“But you’ve never done _anything_ to hurt me.”

“Bases for fears can be rational but not the fear itself. After all, how much sense does it make for people who’ve seen _Jaws_ to be afraid to take a bath?”

Max paused. “I mean… there’s… _some_ logic to that.”

Terry stared at her then, slowly, smiled. “Oh, my God, you were one of those people, weren’t you?”

“I saw _Jaws_ when I was like 5 and it freaked me out, okay?! It was for only, like… six months and I got over it!”

He snickered, “I am so holding that over you.”

“Not if you want me to keep having sex with you, you won’t.”

He held his smile, recognizing the Max attitude that he fell in love with so long ago. “That’s more like it.”

She giggled then sighed. “Terry. I am so sorry. Really.”

“It’s okay.”

“I just… I’m still scared. Not just about B and this shit with the Graves, but… us. I know you’d never hurt me or leave me just… I’m scared of the future. Scared for…” she looked at stomach, “Grace.”

“I’ll you my biggest secret,” he said. “So am I.”

“I just don’t ever want to lose this.” She rubbed her belly, “All of this.”

He put his hand on top of hers. “Neither do I.”

Max looked at Terry and kissed him. She pulled back and stared into eyes, “You’re annoyingly charming, you know that?”

“Only because you tell me,” he replied. He smirked, “Well, you and everyone else who enjoys my very presence.”

She swats his arm. “Sorry. I meant charmingly annoying!”

“Still charming!”

She shook her head then heard her phone ring. She pulled it out of her purse and saw it was Bruce. “Bruce?”

“Calling you first and not me?” Terry asked. “I’m offended!”

Max smiled and answered, “Hey, Bruce.”

“ _Hello, Max,_ ” Bruce said. “ _Is the walking dead awake?_ ”

“He’s here in all his annoying and charming glory.”

“ _Just annoying and no glory, then._ ”

Max giggled.

Terry narrowed his eyes, “What did he say?”

Max looked at her husband and smiled, “That you’re an excellent leader.”

“Bull!”

“Shh!” Max got back to the phone. “What can we do for you, Bruce?”

“ _I need both of you to come to the Manor tonight,_ ” Bruce said. “ _We need to talk._ ”

Max started to feel concerned, “What about?”

“ _The day Marie Leblanc died._ ”

Max nodded, “We’ll be there.”

“ _Alright._ ” Bruce hung up.

Max pulled the phone away and looked at Terry, “Glad we’re okay. Things are about to get serious.”

“They have been for a while,” Terry noted. “What’s up?”

“Bruce wants to know more about Marie.”

Terry took a deep breath. “It’s gonna be a long night.”

* * *

That night, Sally was reading in her room when a knock came to her door. She looked up, “Come in.”

The door opened and Basem walked in, “Hey.”

Sally set her book down, “Hey.”

He closed the door behind him, “Can we talk?”

“Now, you wanna talk?” she asked, with some attitude with it.

He sighed. “I deserve that.”

“You deserve a lot more.”

He shook his head. “What do you want me to say, Sally? I wish this wasn’t happening!”

“Well, so do I! But that’s not the problem!”

“What? Do you wish I wasn’t out there?”

“No, you dummy!” Sally shouted. “What you do is important! You’re needed! What I wish is that you would talk to me!”

“I am talking,” Basem said.

“Yeah, now! But you’re keeping stuff from me! You _never_ used to do that!”

“I just don’t want to believe it’s Stephen.”

“Neither do I. But you should’ve told me!”

“I just…”

A knock came to the door.

Sally exhaled, ruefully. “Come in.”

The door opened and Hayate poked his head in. “I do apologize for the interruption.”

“You’re fine, Hayate,” Sally reassured. “What can we do for you?”

“Wayne- _sama_ wants to see us. And Terry and Max are here.”

Basem looked at Hayate, curiously. “They are?”

Hayate nodded, “ _Hai_.”

They all walked into the main room, finding Bruce seated in his easy chair by the fireplace and Terry and Max settled on the couch.

“Hey, guys,” Sally greeted.

Max smiled, “Hey.”

Sally looked at Max and Terry, “Everything… cool?”

Max took hold of Terry’s hand and smiled, “Very.”

Sally smiled in relief.

“What is it, Bruce?” Basem asked.

Bruce looked at Basem, “It’s time you opened up to us about the day Marie died.”

Basem’s eyes widened in shock. “Why now?”

“Because I need to know exactly why Bellerose is after you.”

“HE’S NOT TUMULUS!” Basem shouted.

Bruce remained undeterred by Basem’s outburst, “All the more reason you need to tell us everything. We need to know all that happened.”

“And Hayate couldn’t tell you?”

“I don’t know everything that happened,” Hayate said.

Basem looked back at Bruce, “You read the reports.”

“I want your take of the events,” Bruce declared.

Basem tried to stay angry but he faltered. Sorrow filled his heart. “Please. Don’t make me talk about this.”

“You’ve kept this bottled up for almost five years, brother,” Terry reminded.

Basem looked at Terry.

“Just… tell us this one time. And you’ll never have to bring it up again.”

Basem stared at Terry and Max then looked at Sally. Basem felt like he could’ve held out a little longer if he hadn’t looked at Sally. He hadn’t even told her everything that happened that day. And the fact that he kept quite a bit from her lately wasn’t helping.

Basem exhaled. “Fine.”

Sally walked over and sat down on the couch next to Max. Basem walked over to the fireplace and leaned against the mantle and stared at the flames.

“Five years,” Basem mused.

“It doesn’t even seem that long ago,” Hayate said, sitting down in another easy chair. “But I shall never forget that day.”

“Me, neither.” Basem rubbed his face. “The one thing I do remember… is that nothing the happened the way it was supposed to.”

“Never does in our lives,” Terry reflected, quietly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Ever since "All This Time", I've alluded to what happened to Basem in Paris, which lead to him coming to Gotham. I think it's about time all of you know the story of what happened.
> 
> Next time: five years ago. Paris, France. Get ready for it.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Part of Basem's story in this chapter is inspired by the Justice League story where Red Arrow and Vixen are trapped under the rubble, "Walls" & "Buried Alive", Sept. 2007, "JLA Vol. 2: The Lightning Saga". This was during Geoff Johns and Brad Meltzer's run and I LOVE Geoff Johns and Brad Meltzer! If you can pick the JLA stories they did, do it! They are a great read!
> 
> Lastly, this may be one of the most emotional chapters I have ever done. I honestly found it hard to write sometimes, I got so emotional. But here we are to learn the truth about what happened to Marie Leblanc five years ago.

** Chapter 18 **

Basem stared at the flames as they danced in the fireplace. His mind flashed to the day Marie died. There was a fire then, as well. In his mind, it still burned.

Hayate leaned forward in his chair, pressing hands together, “Kobra was trying to take power in France. In the beginning, they tried to cause a quiet coup, replace the President and key Parliament members with Kobra operatives. When that failed, due to the League, they attempted to assassinate the President, her family, and all of Parliament by bombing the Château de Versailles. We stopped them but they didn’t seem like they wanted to give up. They were determined to prove they were the one, true power in all the world, even over the Justice League.”

“Yeah, they like to prove that,” Max noted. “They screw it up all the time, but they like to try.”

Sally looked at her, “Max, what do you know about them?”

“One of their leaders tried to marry her and make her a snake-slash-dinosaur woman,” Terry said.

Sally blinked then stared at Max, blankly. “Seriously, what the HELL did you do when I wasn’t in Gotham?!”

“In her defense,” Terry said, “that was partly my fault.”

“That was _all_ your fault,” Bruce corrected.

Terry glared at Bruce then rolled his eyes.

Basem looked back at the fire, “We fought them for weeks, but we couldn’t narrow down where they were operating from. We’d been tearing the city apart, trying to find them, with no luck. But we couldn’t have seen what was coming next.”

* * *

**_Paris, France. Five Years Ago._ **

_Basem was in his apartment when a knock came to his door. He opened it to find Marie standing there with Stephen._

_“_ Bonjour _, Basem,” Marie said, in a cheery voice._

_“Marie, Stephen,” Basem greeted. “Come on in.” They walked in with Basem closing the door behind them._

_Marie was a vision of beauty. She had long blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair skin; she stood at 5’10” and had an impressive build and a lovely figure. She was wearing white dress that extended down to just below her knees. Stephen was standing behind her, dressed in his Gendarmerie uniform. He had short brown hair, dark brown eyes, stood at 6’3”, and was built like a member of the United States Marine Corps._

_“Any luck on hunting down Kobra?” Stephen asked._

_“None yet,” Basem replied. “Koutetsu and Outlaw are searching the city right now and I’ll join them in a bit.”_

_“Learn anything new?” Marie asked._

_“Nothing. Wherever they’ve been staging these attacks from, they’re doing a great job of keeping a secret.”_

_“I just hate we haven’t caught them yet,” Stephen said. “I don’t like those snakes in my city.”_

_“Me, neither,” Basem agreed._

_Marie looked at her phone, looking a little discouraged._

_“What’s wrong, Marie?” Basem asked._

_“I haven’t heard from Rene since last night,” Marie said._

_“He okay?”_

_“I don’t know. He’s mad at me for telling him to stay out of this mess.”_

_“He called me, too,” Stephen said._

_Basem shook his head, “That kid will never learn.”_

_“He’s just a wishful inspector! If he was an official inspector, we wouldn’t have a problem.”_

_“Aaaaas official as, say, me?” Basem smiled._

_While Marie giggled, Stephen narrowed his eyes, “Oh, shut up, Basem.”_

* * *

**_Present Day. Wayne Manor._ **

“Wait a sec,” Terry said.

“What?” Basem asked.

“Rene was a cop?”

“No, he tried to become one but failed the tests.”

Terry and Bruce looked at each, curiously.

Bruce looked back at Basem, “Continue.”

* * *

**_Paris, France. Five Years Ago._ **

_Basem chuckled as Stephen’s frustration, “I’m sure he’ll turn up.”_

_Marie’s phone rang and she saw it was her brother. “Yeah, now, in fact.” She answered, “Rene?”_

_“_ Sister? _” Rene asked._

_“Where are you?”_

_“_ I found them. _”_

_“Found what?”_

_“_ Kobra, _” Rene said. “_ I found their base! _”_

_All the color drained from Marie’s face. “Rene. Where are you?”_

_Basem and Stephen, immediately, noticed her worried look and the distress in her voice._

_“_ We’re in an abandoned office building on Boulevard Masséna at the edge of the city, _” Rene said._

_“Get out of there now!” Marie ordered._

_“_ I can’t! I need to stay! They’re planning another… _” Rene’s voice was suddenly cut off._

_“Hello?! Hello! RENE!” Marie looked at her phone and panicked when the phone read the signal was lost. She looked at Basem, “We gotta go.”_

_“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Basem walked past her, “Suit up! I’ll call the others.”_

* * *

_Minutes later, Nightrunner stared from across the street at the old, 20-story office building. It didn’t appear to be a location Kobra would be running a large operation from but looks could be deceiving. Now in her uniform, Marie flew in and landed just behind Runner; codenamed White Rose, her powers were the ability to fly, even able to reach supersonic speeds. Her suit was all grey and sported a cape and a mask that covered her face but left an opening for her mouth and eyes, similar to Batman’s; she also bore a white rose symbol on her chest._

_“Any luck?” Runner asked._

_“Rene’s still not answering,” Rose replied. “Where are the others?”_

_“They’ll be here as fast they can. Kobra launched another attack on Parliament. They have to deal with that.”_

_“We can’t wait! We have to find Rene!”_

_“I know. But, Rose, we shouldn’t…”_

_“We have to! Please, Runner!”_

_Runner stared at Rose. Every instinct told him they shouldn’t rush in, that it was safer to wait for the rest of the team. They would probably even be needed at Parliament. But, the longer they waited, the more trouble Rene could be in._

_“Please, Basem,” Rose begged._

_Runner surveyed the building and steeled himself for a fight. He looked at Rose, “Let’s go.”_

_They infiltrated the complex, by crashing through a window on the 10 th floor, and were met with immediate resistance from Kobra soldiers. They fought their way through the building, searching every room they could along the way. They had just knocked out a Kobra soldier when they heard panic over their radios about the “Justice League finding them”. Among the rambling, they caught of mention of “that guy who broke in” and discerned he was on the bottom floor. Runner and Rose fought their way down, eventually coming to a long hallway in the basement._

_They slowly walked down the hallway, carefully opening every door. They came to the last door in the hallway and found Rene handcuffed to a maintenance pipe. Rene’s face was bloody, his clothes were torn, he had bruises all over his body, and one eye was swollen shut._

_Rose rushed toward him, “Rene!” She propped his head up, “Rene! Please, wake up!”_

_Rene slowly opened his good eye. “Marie?” He groaned, “White… Rose…”_

_“You little idiot, what are you doing here?!”_

_“I was… I was… trying… to find them.”_

_“You were getting yourself killed!” Rose shouted._

_“We need to do this later!” Runner ordered. “Let’s go!”_

_They picked up Rene by putting his arms over their shoulders and carrying him out. They were halfway down the hallway when more Kobra soldiers showed up. Runner let go of Rene and rushed at the soldiers, fighting them off as hard as he could. After defeating them, Runner led the way as he and Rose fought back to the first floor. They were going to head out of the front door but found a blockade of Kobra soldiers waiting for them, armed with rifles._

_“Go, go!” Runner shouted, pointing at the stairs. Rose flew with her brother in her arms up the stairs with Runner right behind her as Kobra opened fire._

_They saw a window at the end of a hallway but suddenly laser fire shattered the window. Runner and Rose ducked back into the stairwell, with Runner tossing a smoke grenade down the stairwell to keep any soldiers at bay. They headed up two flights of stairs and stopped._

_They had to face the facts. They were surrounded._

_“They must have air support,” Rose surmised._

_“Yeah.” Runner formulated a plan then looked at Rose. “Take Rene and get out of here.”_

_Rose stared at Runner, incredulously. “Are you crazy? I’m not leaving you here!”_

_“You have to! He needs medical attention and you know you can’t carry us both. I’ll create a distraction, get their attention and you fly for all you’ve got.”_

_Rose opened her mouth. “But… Runner…”_

_“It’s gotta be this way.” Runner took a deep breath, “Alright, let’s…”_

_Suddenly, the building felt the whole building shake. They realized Kobra was bombing the building. Runner looked at Rose as a look of horror entered her eyes._

_“Basem…” Rose whispered._

_Runner heard a whistling sound. His eyes widened, “ROSE! YOU GOTTA…”_

_The explosion was deafening, the heat was intense; the force from the blast threw both Runner and Rose back. They tried to get back up but felt the building shake again, even more violently. Rose hurled herself over her brother while Runner got to his feet and tried to find the best way to exit. He looked in time to see that another explosive had hit building, with a wall of fire throwing him hard against a wall. The last thing Runner saw before blacking out was the ceiling breaking apart._

* * *

**_Present Day. Wayne Manor._ **

“You…” Sally said, “you were still inside? With her?”

“Yeah,” Basem whispered.

“I thought you got there later!” Max said, doing her best to keep from crying. “I mean… I always thought that… I didn’t… think you were…”

Terry put his arm around Max’s shoulders and pulled her close. Basem just rubbed his forehead at the painful memory.

“We still were fighting Kobra at Parliament,” Hayate said. “We heard some of their forces were attacking another building but…”

“You couldn’t let their primary target be destroyed,” Bruce said.

Hayate dropped his head in his hand, “It took us nearly four hours to get to them. If only we’d been able to drive Kobra back faster…”

“There’s nothing you could’ve done.” Basem shook his head. “It was my fault. All of it.”

Terry stared at Basem, “You can’t blame yourself.”

“Why would they bomb the whole building?” Max asked, sorrowfully.

“Once they learned two members of the League were there,” Hayate answered, “they didn’t want to take any chances.”

Terry looked over at Basem. He narrowed his eyes. “That’s not all that happened. Is it?”

Basem stared at the flames for a while. He shook his head. “No. It’s not.”

* * *

**_Paris, France. Five Years Ago._ **

_Runner regained consciousness with no concept of how long he was out. The sound of his own groans was still a bit muffled, but his hearing was clearing up. He looked around him but it was so dark that he couldn’t see but two feet in front of him, at best. He heard some rocks still moving so he figured he hadn’t been out too long. He tried to move but winced immediately as pain shot through him. There was debris all around him and his leg caught under something._

_Runner coughed, “Rose.” He looked around, “Rose?”_

_“I’m over here,” Rose said, weakly._

_Runner followed the sound of Rose’s voice, reached into belt, and broke a glow stick to light up the area and saw Rose with part of her mask torn apart. Runner saw his leg was wedged in-between slabs of concrete; after a few moments of struggle, he freed himself and crawled over to her._

_“You okay?” Runner asked when he was close._

_Rose shook her head, “No.”_

_Her answer surprised him. “Why? What…” he looked down, examining her body and saw a piece of rebar sticking out of her abdomen and her legs were crushed under a metal beam. “No,” he whispered. He shook his head, “Oh, no, no, no, no.”_

_She started coughing. “Where’s Rene?”_

_Runner looked around and saw Rene, still unconscious, with his arm pinned under some rubble. “Oh, God. He, uh, he’s over there.” He got on his communicator, “Hello? Outlaw? Vixen?” All he heard was static. His earpiece was damaged._

_“I couldn’t get a signal either,” Rose said._

_“Damn it!” Runner grunted. He looked all around them, in a panic, “Okay. Alright. God, I’m, uh… I’m gonna figure this out.”_

_Rose appreciated his effort; Basem was trying like he always did. But she knew the truth: while Rene had a chance, it was too late for her. “Basem,” she said, weakly._

_“Shut up, Marie.” Runner’s mind started racing. “I, uh… I-I have a few charges. I can blow us outta here.”_

_“You don’t know what’s on any side of us. You could cause a cave in or hit a gas line.”_

_“I don’t give a damn. I’m getting you outta here! You’re living through this! Both of you! Stephen’s waiting for you! I’m getting you to your wedding!”_

_“Basem…”_

_“Stop it, Marie! You know the League might not get to us in time! I’m going to save you!”_

_“Basem.”_

_“I’m not letting you die.”_

_“Basem,” she whispered._

_“I’M NOT LETTING YOU DIE!” he shouted._

_She, calmly, placed her hand on his arm. “Basem.”_

_He stopped and tried not to cry._

_“Thank you.” She smiled._

_“What the hell for? I did this. I got you killed.”_

_She slowly shook her head. “You helped me save my brother.”_

_“If his arm isn’t crushed,” Runner groaned._

_“Still alive,” Rose smiled. “That’s all that matters.” Her eyes started to water. “I begged you come in here. I did this.”_

_“No, you didn’t.” Runner looked around. “There has to be a way outta here.”_

_Rose shook her head, “There isn’t.”_

_He knew that was true. He gazed into her eyes, “Marie…”_

_“Thank you. For everything. For being my friend, my teammate.” She coughed. “You and your family. You are always so kind to me and Rene.”_

_Runner tried to be strong. But he could see she already accepted her fate. Despite all he wanted to do to fight it, he was starting to, as well. “What do I do, Marie? Just… tell me what to do!”_

_Marie gazed at him. “Take your mask off.”_

_He did as she requested._

_“Just talk to me. I want to spend time with my best friend. I’m proud to die a hero, a member of the Justice League. I’d rather die your friend.”_

_Basem took hold of her hand and squeezed it. “Whatever you want.”_

_She smiled at him. “Tell me a story.”_

_He almost laughed as tears fell. “What-what story do you wanna hear?”_

_She laughed through her tears, “One with a happy ending.” She laughed again._

_He chuckled, doing his best not to cry. He sniffed. “Sure.” He cleared his throat. “Well,” he took a breath, “I think I got one you’re gonna like.”_

_“I’m all ears.”_

_“You’ll love how it starts: once upon a time…”_

* * *

**_Present Day. Wayne Manor._ **

Basem was still staring into the flames. He rubbed his forehead and sighed. “By the time the League got to us… it was too late. Marie had been dead for over an hour.”

Max and Sally had tears streaming down their face, while Terry had his hands over his mouth. Hayate leaned forward and rubbed his eyes, remembering the agonizing pain the moment they dug Basem and the others out of the rubble. Sally got up, walked over, and hugged Basem as hard as she could. He barely recognized she was there at first but, when he did, he put his arm around her and leaned against her.

Bruce sat back and pressed his fingers together. “What happened with Stephen and Rene?”

Basem lifted his head up, “Stephen… he was a zombie. Numb for weeks before he finally was able to… pull himself together and get back to work. Even then… he just took desk jobs for the most part.”

“Who could blame him?” Max asked.

“Turns out Rene heard more than I thought. He was slipping in and out of consciousness the whole time.” Basem stopped and stared into nothing, “He had to hear his sister die.” He sighed, “And… they… had to take his arm. All of that trauma, he just… lost it. Turned to committing crimes left and right, then started leading public protests against the League. He said there were no true heroes anymore. Not like his sister. He even began attacking criminals all over the place, dispensing ‘true justice’ like he used to say.” He scoffed. “Stephen said Rene was just hurt. I don’t think it was that simple.”

Bruce interlocked his fingers and he let his mind process everything.

Terry lowered his hands. “I am so sorry, B.”

Basem looked at Terry but couldn’t speak.

Terry exhaled and shook his head, “We need to find Stephen.”

Basem glared at Terry, “After all that, you still think…”

“It doesn’t matter what I think. It matters that we need to find him.”

“He’s innocent.”

“Fine,” Terry said. “Then let’s figure out why he’s in Gotham and what he has to do with this. And we can do all that by finding him.”

Basem stared at Terry but nodded in agreement. He looked at Hayate, “Do you have any of your gear?”

“ _Hai_ ,” Hayate replied. “I hid it in the city and retrieved it earlier.”

“Suit up, then. We’re gonna need you.”

Hayate nodded.

“Any news on Stephen?” Terry asked Bruce.

“Nothing yet,” Bruce replied.

“We still need to get out there. I got a bad feeling Tumulus is up to something.”

“Based on what?” Max asked.

Terry thought about it, “It was like he’s had a plan every step of the way. Hayate shows up and he retreats? Nah, he’s got something else up his sleeve. He has since day one.”

“Let’s go then,” Basem started heading for the cave.

“What was it?” Sally asked.

Basem stopped, not facing her yet, while everyone else looked at Sally.

“What story did you tell Marie?” Sally asked.

Basem turned toward Sally, “Her favorite. And mine. _Beauty and the Beast_.”


	19. Chapter 19

** Chapter 19 **

Sally stared out of the window of the Manor, looking out over the sea. She could hardly wrap her mind around everything she just heard. Basem was right next to Marie when she died. He held her hand the entire time. No wonder he never told everyone the whole story. It was so hard just to hear it. How hard was it for him to live it? And relive it at any given moment?

Max walked up behind Sally and placed her hand on her shoulder.

“You okay?” Max asked.

Sally looked over her shoulder at Max, “No.” She looked back at the sea. “I’m really not.”

“Need to talk?”

Sally looked down, “Not… not right now. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Max said. “I’ll always be here when you need me.”

Sally nodded and walked away, heading for her room.

Max exhaled and walked to the Cave. She went inside and walked to the computer where Bruce was monitoring Batman, Nightrunner, and Koutetsu.

“Did you need something?” Bruce asked as Max approached.

“I wanted to know how I can help,” Max answered. “Sally’s not talking to me and the boys are out and still a wreck, especially B. I want to know what I can do to help everyone around here. I don’t just wanna… sit around, pregnant.”

“You’re more than that. You always have been.”

“Thanks, Bruce.”

Bruce looked at one of the side screens, “Actually.” He hit a few keys on his console, activating another keyboard and an independent computer screen to his right. “There is something that you can help with.”

“Sure.”

Bruce hit a few more keys, causing another chair to rise from the floor in front of the console and some information to appear on the screen. “These files are from Commander Le Grande. He sent them all before he died, including a few arriving just a few hours before.”

“You want me to go through them?” Max asked.

“I gave them a going-over but look through them again. See if you can find anything I may have missed.”

“You don’t miss anything.”

“If that were true, I’d be able to figure out why you married Terry.” Bruce smirked.

Max laughed. “Bruce, you’re horrible.”

“Yes. Yes, I am.”

She sat down in the chair, “Let me get to work.”

He nodded. “Thank you.”

“Thank _you_ , Bruce.” Max started typing as Bruce went back to monitoring.

* * *

Batman was driving the Batmobile over a known Jokerz hangout but didn’t see any sign of the gang. No telling where they were and he hardly cared right now. His mind was on far more troubling matters than the clown-themed gang. His thoughts drifted to Basem and his account of what happened to Marie. It left him with a lot of sorrow for his brother and many questions about that day. Why would Rene go alone and not tell his sister until he was there? What made him think that was a good idea? There was also the fact that Rene wanted to become a cop. That wasn’t sitting well with Batman, either, for some reason.

Batman’s thoughts were interrupted when call came in from Bruce. He answered, “Go ahead.”

“ _I found Bellerose,_ ” Bruce replied.

Batman’s eyes went wide. “Where?”

“ _He’s in the Red Light District. It looks like he’s conducting an investigation._ ”

“How’d you find him?”

“ _He used a credit card that was marked for the Gendarmerie, caught him on the camera as soon as the alert went off._ ”

“Got it. On my way.”

“ _You better keep your eyes on him and not anything else in_ that _district!_ ” Max’s voice echoed.

Batman’s eyebrow shot up. “Max, what are you doing in the Cave?”

“ _She’s helping me,_ ” Bruce answered.

“Hold up! You’re letting her get involved? You?”

“ _She’s sitting at a computer, not dodging laser fire. After the years of begging for a suit, I’ll take it._ ”

“ _Told you I’d wear you both down,_ ” Max smiled.

“Oh, shut up,” Batman rolled his eyes.

“ _Get going and find Bellerose,_ ” Bruce ordered.

“Runner and Koutetsu?”

“ _Right behind you._ ”

“Got it. Contact you soon.”

* * *

Batman was standing on a rooftop, overlooking the Red Light District, when Nightrunner and Koutetsu landed behind him. Koutetsu uniform was dark blue, fashioned in the style of _uwagi_ garb with black trousers and combat boots. His forearms and fists were covered with black, leather _han kotes_ , or _vambraces_ as they are also known. He was also wearing his black domino mask and carrying a black, samurai-styled wooden sword.

Batman looked at Koutetsu’s wooden sword and raised an eyebrow. “Is that some kind of special wood?”

Koutetsu chuckled, “No. I have perfect control over my body energy, my _chi_. I can surge it into my body to increase my strength and send _chi_ into my _bokuto_ to make it harder than steel.”

“ _Gesundheit_ ,” Batman joked.

“ _Bokuto_ means ‘wooden sword’ in Japanese,” Runner said, impatiently. “Where is he?”

Batman looked at Runner and exhaled, ruefully. “Not sure. Bruce said that the last sight of him was here.”

“Let’s hurry and find him.”

The three heroes patrolled the area until Nightrunner found Stephen sitting in a diner. Runner stared at Stephen for a while then took a risky move. Runner went into an alley and took off his mask and gloves, putting them in his pockets. He pulled out a folded-up sweater from his waistpack, slipped it on over the rest of his uniform, and went inside the diner.

Stephen was eating a sandwich and looked up to see someone sat down across from him. His eyes widened when he realized it was Basem. The two men were still for a long time.

Basem couldn’t help but notice that Stephen looked different. He had a scraggly beard now and his hair wasn’t the neat cut it always had been. It also looked like he’d lost weight and muscle tone. Basem realized he wasn’t the only one who never recovered from the tragedy.

“When we last saw each other,” Basem finally spoke, “I told you that I couldn’t move on from Marie’s death and stay in Paris, that I was leaving to start anew in Gotham. Do you remember?”

Stephen opened his mouth but he was still at a loss for words. He finally managed to speak up, “I remember.”

“I asked if you had forgiven me.”

Stephen nodded.

“And you said…” Basem stated.

“‘There’s nothing to forgive.’”

Basem nodded. He looked up and saw Batman and Koutetsu standing on rooftop across the street. Stephen looked and saw them as well.

Basem looked back at Stephen, “Is this still the case?”

Stephen looked at Basem, confused. “What?”

“We need to talk.”

* * *

Minutes later, the three heroes were with Stephen in a nearby park where no people were about. Stephen and Runner were sitting at a picnic table bench, facing each other, while Batman and Koutetsu stood close.

“What is this about, Basem?” Stephen asked. He looked at Koutetsu, “And what’s Hayate doing here?”

“Mind not broadcasting their names?” Batman asked.

Stephen looked at Batman, incredulously, “What are you even doing here?”

“My city, my rules. And we have a lot to talk about.”

“Like what?”

“You know Le Grande was killed, yes?” Runner asked.

Stephen became forlorn. “Yes. I… heard.”

“What brought you to Gotham in the first place?”

“Special orders from Le Grande.” Stephen sighed. “His last orders.”

“Orders about what?” Batman asked, with a bit of force.

Stephen looked back at Batman, intensely. “Do you have a problem with me?”

“Let’s just say, I have some concerns.”

“Like what?”

“Batman,” Runner warned.

“No, we’re doing this now,” Batman argued. “Before we get jumped again!”

“‘Jumped’?” Stephen asked.

“He means ‘ambushed’,” Koutetsu answered.

“I know what ‘jumped’ means, Hayate. I’m asking what he’s talking about.”

“We’ve had a few run-ins with a supervillain collective calling themselves the Graves, led by a powerful man who calls himself Tumulus,” Runner explained. “We have reason to believe they’re in alliance with Malum.”

Stephen narrowed his eyes, “Le Grande sent me here to find Malum.”

“And why were you in Strasbourg?” Batman asked.

Stephen jerked his head back as he looked at Batman again. “How did you know I was there?”

“I spoke with Le Grande the day before he died. By the way, he never mentioned any kind of assignment where he sent you to find Malum.”

“It was a deep cover assignment,” Stephen retorted. “It was to protect all involved! When Malum escaped, Le Grande had me assigned to find him. And I was in Strasbourg to gather data for the case. On _Le Grande’s_ orders.”

Batman folded his arms, “Why wouldn’t he have told me about that?”

“Deep cover, like I said.”

Batman narrowed his eyes, “Wait a sec. How did he contact you? Did you ever discuss this face to face?”

“All through emails,” Stephen shrugged. “He said it was too dangerous to speak about it in person. He called me one night to start with and said emails would be best from that point onward.”

Batman studied Stephen, curiously. Stephen seemed to be telling the truth. But, if he was, then what the hell was going on?

“Why are you asking me all these questions?” Stephen asked, looking at all of the heroes.

“It’s… necessary,” Koutetsu said. “Regrettably so.”

“I have to ask you something else,” Runner declared, “and I don’t want to.”

“Ask,” Stephen said.

“Where were you last night?”

“I was tracking some of Malum’s men.”

“Anywhere near City Hall?” Batman asked.

Stephen looked at Batman, “No, I was…” He narrowed his eyes. “There was an attack last night at City Hall.”

“Yes, from the Graves,” Koutetsu added.

Stephen looked at Koutetsu then Batman, who’s hard expression hadn’t changed, and lastly at Nightrunner. “You think I have something to do with that?”

Runner looked away and sighed. “Stephen…”

“What in God’s name would make you think that?!”

“You suddenly appear in Gotham outta nowhere,” Batman said, “and Tumulus bombs a Gendarmerie I was in while I was looking for you.”

“So, what?!” Stephen shouted.

“That doesn’t seem suspicious to you?!” Batman fired back.

Stephen looked back at Runner. “You think I have something to do with this, don’t you?”

Runner stopped and rubbed the back of his head. “Not… entirely.”

“Based on what?” Stephen asked.

“Tumulus talks about how I failed. How I fail my friends, let them die.”

“And we’ve deduced that this all comes down to…” Batman stopped, “Marie Leblanc.”

Stephen’s eyes widened at hearing her name. “Marie,” he whispered. He felt a tear try to escape, immediately, but stopped it and looked at Runner. “You think that… you think I blame you for Marie’s death? You think that I ever would?!”

“All signs point to yes,” Batman answered.

Keeping his attention to Runner, Stephen started shaking and gritted his teeth. He jumped to his feet, suddenly, causing Batman to immediately tense up and be ready for a fight. Runner, however, didn’t move at all.

“YOU THINK I WOULD TURN ON YOU LIKE THAT?!” Stephen shouted. “YOU THINK THAT I HATE YOU FOR…” He calmed down as voice broke, “…for what happened to my beloved?”

Runner stared at Stephen, exhaled.

“I loved her. With all my heart. But she was a hero. Just like you. You would never just let her die, Basem. I know you. You’d never do that. It was a tragedy. All of it. But it wasn’t your fault.”

Runner closed his eyes. “I wish I felt the same.”

The more Stephen talked, the more Batman was convinced of Stephen’s innocence. Stephen was angry, yes, but that was to be expected. He seemed genuine in his passion and didn’t give off a hint of deceitfulness. He was telling the truth.

But that left one nagging question.

‘ _If Stephen isn’t behind all of this,_ ’ Batman thought, ‘ _who the hell is?_ ’

* * *

As Bruce sat listening to the conversation between the heroes and Stephen, Max saw something attached to one of the files on Stephen’s computer. “Uhhhhhh, Bruce?”

“What is it?” Bruce asked, still looking at the main computer screen.

“I… I think there’s an actual Trojan virus on Stephen’s computer.”

Bruce perked up and turned toward Max. “What? As in…”

“Yeah, the… the virus has been sending emails to and from Stephen’s computer.” Her eyes went wide. “Bruce, these orders from the prison transfer and all this other stuff… didn’t come from Stephen. Or Le Grande. A third party was sending them to both but it made it look like they were sending them to each other.”

Bruce’s eyes widened. “It was a set-up. All of it!” He got on his communicator, “Terry!”

* * *

Bruce relayed the information to the heroes, catching them all by surprise. Batman listened to the words of his mentor and his eyes went wide. Not just at the news but he was starting to put the pieces together in the only way they made any possible sense.

“Oh, slag…” Batman moaned.

Stephen looked at Batman, “What’s wrong?”

Batman looked around. Then saw a flash of light down a nearby alleyway. “We need to go! Now!”

But it was already too late.

A grenade landed on the ground near them all. They scrambled with Runner throwing himself over Stephen. The explosion threw them all in different directions. Runner was still covering Stephen, taking a brunt of the explosion.

“Are you okay?” Stephen asked Runner.

“Been better,” Runner replied. He looked up. “You?”

Stephen nodded.

Runner looked at his compatriots, “Batman? Koutetsu?”

“Still alive,” Batman groaned. “Though not for lack of trying.”

“Same,” Koutetsu pushed himself up.

“It’s so sad,” Tumulus’s voice echoed.

Everyone looked up as Tumulus and the Graves emerged from the shadows of the alley.

“Had you accepted your fate, Nightrunner, this wouldn’t have happened. It’d just be your death that would come. Now, I have to kill Batman and Koutetsu, as well. But that shouldn’t surprise anyone. You’re good at killing your friends, Basem.”

Everyone caught Tumulus just used Nightrunner’s real name. Tumulus had never done that before. All of this caused Runner’s mind to spin and his blood to run hot.

Runner looked up and screamed, “WHO ARE YOU?!”

Tumulus chuckled. “Haven’t you figured it out yet? Aren’t you supposed to be a detective?”

“While he’s pretty good at it, that would be me,” Batman said, getting to his feet. “Besides, I’ve been the one flying all over the western hemisphere hunting you down.”

“So true.”

“You left a lot of crazy breadcrumbs. But they all led to one place. Because if you’re not Stephen, there’s only one person you could be.”

“Really?” Tumulus asked. “And what have you figured out, Batman?”

“That you killed Le Grande, framed Stephen, sent us on wild goose chases… and, no matter the scheme, this is all about Marie. Every single bit of it.”

Tumulus stood silently for a while. “It always was. I died the day she did.”

“No, you didn’t,” Batman retorted. “You just lost your arm.”

Runner, Stephen, and Koutetsu became deathly still as the devastating truth hit them all. Runner felt a chill run down his back and he couldn’t even speak. Stephen stared at Tumulus, his eyes wide.

Batman narrowed his eyes, “You didn’t even die when they said you did months ago. You played us. And, damn you for it. But I gotta admit: you ran a good con.” He then declared the name of the only person Tumulus could be. “Rene.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: "bokuto (bokutō)": Japanese for "wooden sword" {also, bokken (木剣, bok(u), "wood", and ken, "sword") (or a bokutō 木刀)}  
> "vambrace", samurai armor guards OR "han kote" ("kote" gauntlets) which covered the forearms  
> "uwagi" (上衣) a kimono-like jacket  
> Lastly, yes, Koutetsu is like Iron Fist. Iron Fist is one of my favorite characters and I enjoyed coming up with Koutetsu and making him an homage to Iron Fist.


	20. Chapter 20

** Chapter 20 **

**_Five Years Ago. Paris, France._ **

_It was deep in the night of the same day Marie died and the entire city of Paris was quiet. The news had run that, while the Justice League had stopped Kobra, White Rose had died in the League’s efforts against the terrorist organization. Basem had his right arm in a sling and his right foot bandaged up as he limped down the hospital hallway. He arrived at Rene’s room and went inside._

_Rene was still unconscious with an oxygen mask over his face and bandages covering him from head to toe._

_The most noticeable injury was Rene’s missing left arm._

_That hit Basem almost as hard as Marie’s death._

_“I’m sorry, Rene,” Basem whispered. “I…” He started crying, “I am… so sorry. Please. Forgive me.”_

* * *

**_Present Day. Gotham City._ **

Runner stared at Tumulus, shell-shocked at the revelation of his enemy’s true identity. Tumulus was Rene Leblanc, Marie’s own brother. Koutetsu and Stephen were also completely stunned at the turn of events.

Among them, only Batman was able to verbalize anything. “So, I’m right, aren’t I?” He also surveyed the situation as Tumulus had brought along Blaze, Flicker, Lord Troy, and Thalia, much to Batman’s surprise.

Tumulus chuckled, lowly. “You are impressive, Batman. It’s been a while since anyone’s called me by my birth name.”

“Rene,” Runner whispered, in disbelief. He shook his head, “How?”

Tumulus started pacing, “Some people know, like I do, that the Justice League is a lying pack of dogs.”

“Not being able to save one person?” Batman asked.

“The one person who mattered!” Tumulus shouted. “The only person! And he didn’t ‘fail to save’ her. He killed her. Pure and simple.”

Koutetsu stared at Tumulus. “Your arm…”

“Yes,” Tumulus lifted his left hand and made a fist. “My… new sponsors were gracious enough to help me gain a new one, along with quite a few new abilities.”

“Which explains the superpowers,” Batman noted. “And more, since, from the files, you’re a little taller than you should be.”

“And how you escaped from prison,” Koutetsu added. “Even faked your death.”

“Yes,” Tumulus responded.

“And who are these ‘friends’ who decided to give you an upgrade?” Batman asked.

“Tragically, Batman… you won’t live long enough to find out.”

“Gotta say you’re wrong about that!” Batman threw a batarang.

The batarang exploded into light as Batman grabbed Stephen and launched a cable, latching on to the closest building. Runner fired his own cable and Koutetsu used his abilities to make the jump in one leap. The three heroes just landed on the roof with Stephen, when Flicker appeared in front of them. Batman threw a punch and knocked Flicker down. Koutetsu used to abilities to dissipate an incoming fireball from Blaze. All four men ran across the roof as Batman tried calling for the Batmobile.

They were suddenly cut off but a blast of energy on the roof. They turned to see Troy hovering in the air. Thalia arrived on the roof, who screamed out a shockwave that threw them all back. Stephen almost fell off the roof before Runner caught his wrist. Batman got up and rushed at Thalia but Troy halted Batman with a blast of energy.

Batman landed on his back, “Okay, this ain’t goin’ well!”

Runner hauled Stephen back up and they both saw Tumulus had just climbed up on the roof, as well.

* * *

**_Five Years Ago. Paris, France._ **

_Two days after Marie’s death, the hospital’s hallways echoed with the screams and cries of Rene. Rene had finally regained consciousness and asked where his sister was. Stephen volunteered to tell him._

_Basem was sitting in his recovery room, listening to the commotion, when Hayate, Ari, and Alex walked in._

_“Is that… Rene?” Ari asked as she looked out of the door._

_“Yeah,” Basem answered. “Stephen just told him.”_

_Ari slowly shied away from the door, “My God…”_

_“I just can’t believe this,” Hayate mused. “Marie. Gone.”_

_Alex stared at Basem, “And how are you feeling?”_

_Basem stared at him, then looked at Ari and Hayate. “I failed.”_

_“Basem,” Ari whispered._

_Basem lowered his head and whispered, “I failed completely.”_

_“She died,” Alex said. “That’s not your fault.”_

_Basem looked Alex in the eyes. “Tell that to Rene.”_

* * *

**_Present Day. Gotham City._ **

Batman threw four batarangs that all detonated, causing the Graves to dodge or block the attack. Batman looked at his allies and yelled, “GO! GO!”

The four jumped off of the roof, having various ways to slow their decent. They ran into a nearby alley, keeping an eye out for their enemies.

Batman looked around, “We gotta get outta here!”

“I believe we’re open to suggestions,” Koutetsu said.

Batman exhaled and leaned his head back, “We need to get back to base. And, the best way to do that… is to split up.”

“That has to be your _worst_ idea,” Runner declared.

“You see another way out of this?” Batman asked.

Suddenly, another grenade landed amongst them. They scrambled again as the grenade detonated and desolated most of the alley.

Batman looked to see Blitzkrieg hovering in the air. She was wearing battle armor, holding a large rifle, and using a jetpack to fly. The other Graves were coming down from the rooftop as well to continue the attack.

“Great!” Batman shouted, sarcastically. “ _Now_ it’s a full party!” Batman dodged a shot from Blitzkrieg’s rifle. He got behind cover and activated his communicator, “Runner, get Stephen outta here! Now! Koutetsu, we have to hold them off!”

“I’m with you,” Koutetsu agreed.

“Batman,” Runner said, worriedly.

“I SAID NOW!” Batman threw several batarangs at Blitzkrieg then dodged a fireball from Blaze.

Koutetsu rushed forward and threw his shoulder against Blaze, knocking her to the ground. Koutetsu dodged a kick from Flicker and punched him, knocking the villain down. Thalia was about to scream when Batman tackled her, using his jet boots for extra force.

* * *

Runner and Stephen were running down the opposite street with Runner attempting to call his Nightbike. They stopped when Tumulus blocked their path.

“Finally, all alone,” Tumulus said.

“Rene,” Runner said, still trying to grasp that this was happening. “Why? Why are you doing this?”

“You actually have to ask,” Tumulus said.

“Rene!” Stephen shouted. “Stop this!”

“Stop it? I haven’t even started.”

Tumulus rushed at them and punched Runner hard enough to send him sailing down the street. Tumulus stared at Stephen, slowly, advancing toward him until a shadow appeared over them. Tumulus looked up to see Batman tackle him to the ground. Koutetsu landed on top of a nearby car, driving Flicker into the roof of it he did so.

Batman looked at Koutetsu then pointed at Stephen and Runner, “GET THEM OUT OF HERE! NOW!”

“Batman…” Koutetsu said, worriedly.

“Hurry! I got this!”

Tumulus started to get up and Batman through a ball that exploded into gel that encased around the villain. Batman saw Thalia and Blitzkrieg zeroing in on him; he threw two batarangs that created an electric net, stunning them both and shorting out Blitzkrieg’s suit. Tumulus broke out of the gel casing, sending the shards flying everywhere.

“You’re only delaying the inevitable, Batman,” Tumulus declared.

“I am so sick of people saying stuff like that to me.” Batman threw three more batarangs.

Tumulus knocked two away but the third exploded in his face. Tumulus wasn’t hurt but the smoke gave Batman time to scale the roof. Tumulus didn’t see where Runner and the others went, so he looked at the rooftop.

“Fine,” Tumulus said. “Someone will die tonight. If you wish it, it can be you, Batman.”

* * *

**_Five Years Ago. Paris, France._ **

_The night after Rene learned about Marie, Basem walked into Rene’s room, finding Rene fast asleep. Basem walked toward the bed and Rene slowly opened his eyes._

_“What do you want?” Rene asked, harshly._

_Basem slowly looked away. “I… just… I’m so sorry, Rene.”_

_“You’re sorry?” Rene wanted to sit up but couldn’t. “Sorry! You’re supposed to be one of the good guys!”_

_“I tried, Rene.”_

_“Tried?! If you tried, you would’ve saved my sister! You let her die! You bastard! She died because of you!” Rene started thrashing about, knocking equipment and his tray table over._

_Doctors, nurses, and orderlies rushed as Basem slowly a few steps back to give them room to work._

_“It’s all your fault!” Rene shouted._

_Basem lowered his head and walked into the hallway._

_“YOU GOT HER KILLED!” Rene’s voice echoed. “IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT!”_

* * *

**_Present Day. Gotham City._ **

Runner, Koutetsu, and Stephen were heading down the street when Troy appeared overhead. He launched a series of energy balls at them but Koutetsu used his _chi_ -infused _bokuto_ to knock most of them away. Two of the energy orbs got through Koutetsu’s defense and knocked all three men in the air. Runner and Koutetsu managed to land on their feet but Stephen landed hard on his shoulder.

Runner threw a series of stinger bits at Troy then followed it up with a force-grenade, which knocked Troy out of the sky. No sooner than Troy landed on a rooftop, Thalia appeared at the end of the street and launched another shockwave from her mouth. Runner managed to get Stephen out of the way while Koutetsu used his _chi_ to block the attack.

They were about to retaliate with Batman landed amongst them, crashing into the sidewalk.

“Batman!” Runner shouted.

“This…” Batman said, struggled to get up, “is… a bad… night!”

Runner was about to comment when Tumulus landed in a street with a hard thud.

“How does it feel to keep failing, Runner?” Tumulus asked.

Batman got to his feet, “He hasn’t failed yet.”

“Of course he has. Troy.”

Troy waved his hands and a ring of light wrapped around Stephen and pulled him toward Tumulus. Once Stephen was close, Tumulus grabbed Stephen by the throat and the ring of light faded.

“Stephen!” Runner shouted.

“Put him down, Tumulus!” Batman yelled. “NOW!”

Tumulus started choking Stephen.

“Rene,” Stephen wheezed out. “Please.”

Tumulus stared at Stephen. “‘Please.’ I’m sure Marie said that plenty.”

“Don’t do this!” Runner pleaded.

“You have to learn.” Tumulus said to Runner. He looked at Stephen, “And you must learn.”

Batman and Koutetsu rushed at Tumulus but Thalia and Blaze landed in front of Tumulus, using screams and flames to hold the heroes back. Batman and Koutetsu tried to overcome the attacks but Blitzkrieg had recovered and fired at them while Flicker appeared to further distract them. The combined efforts of the Graves threw Batman and Koutetsu back by Runner. Blaze surrounded the Gotham knights in a ring of fire to hold them at bay.

Gritting at the flames and knowing the Graves were just waiting for the heroes to make a move, Batman growled and shouted, “Tumulus! Don’t you do it!”

“They have to learn their lesson, Batman,” Tumulus said. “The same lesson I learned the day you killed my sister, Runner. And that lesson?” He looked at Stephen. “You don’t choose how the story ends.” He raised his other hand up, placing directly behind Stephen’s head.

“NO!” Runner screamed.

The snapping sound of Stephen’s neck breaking echoed through the street, even over the crackling sound of the flames surrounding the heroes. Tumulus let Stephen’s body fall to the ground.

Runner stared in shock at what he just witnessed and sank down to his knees. He couldn’t even catch his breath.

Batman had an opposite reaction. His rage hit its peak. He gained an adrenaline rush and charged forward, flying over the flames and diving down at Tumulus.

“You’re mine, you son of a bitch!” Batman yelled.

“Not today,” Tumulus said. In that moment, a bright light flashed and the Graves were gone.

Batman landed in the middle of the empty street, next to Stephen’s body. Batman looked around, frustrated, and screamed in rage.

Runner walked over and sat down next to Stephen’s body. Runner couldn’t speak. He grabbed Stephen’s hand and stared into the face of the man that he couldn’t save.

And couldn’t stop himself from thinking he killed him.

* * *

The Graves were back at their base and, while the rest of the team went to rest up and savor their victory over the Dark Knights, Blaze stared at Tumulus as he sat in the corner of one of the train cars. Tumulus had his eyes closed and his head leaned back, but he sensed that Blaze was still in the car.

“What is it?” Tumulus asked.

“Nightrunner killed your sister?” Blaze asked, bluntly.

“He may as well have. Is that a problem?”

“No, just… he didn’t strike me as a killer.”

“You don’t know him like I do.”

“Alright,” Blaze replied.

Tumulus opened his eyes and glared at Blaze, “Is this going to be a problem, Blaze? I’m paying you for this.”

Blaze held her hands up, “No. I mean… money’s money. Just… I don’t know. I’ve known killers. He never gave off those vibes.”

Tumulus got up and walked toward Blaze to tower over her. “Understand this, Blaze. I don’t care what you think, I didn’t ask for your opinion, and I don’t give a damn how you feel. You’re getting paid for one thing: you’re here to make sure I get my revenge. That’s all. If that’s a problem for you… I can take care of that problem. Do we understand each other?”

Blaze was trying her best not to shake in fear. “Crystal clear… b-boss.”

Tumulus moved passed her, exiting the train car.

Blaze let out a long exhale and did her best to convince herself that this is just a job.


	21. Chapter 21

** Chapter 21 **

Basem sat in the cave on the edge of one of the cliffs. He had his head bowed, trying to come to terms with everything he just learned. And the death of a very good friend.

After the battle with the Graves, Barbara and the police arrived on the scene. After tearing Runner away from Stephen’s body, the coroners took the corpse away and Batman explained everything in private to Barbara. Barbara, immediately, put out an APB for the Graves and promised to let the Gotham knights know as soon as they found them.

Bruce was staring at the computer screen with his fingers interlocked and resting his chin on them. Hayate were sitting near Bruce while Terry was pacing back and forth in front the costume display cases. Max was upstairs, sleeping in one of the spare bedrooms, and Sally was asleep in her own room as well. Max and Sally had been told about Stephen, but Terry advised them to get some sleep. There was enough grief going around and someone around here needed to rest. Neither Max nor Sally had the strength to argue with Terry and went to bed.

Terry glanced over at Basem and wished he could make him go to bed, as well.

“Stephen,” Hayate whispered. “Gone. Just like that.”

“I can’t believe that,” Terry groaned.

“They played us,” Bruce declared. “And they did it very well.”

“I can’t believe I missed that,” Hayate said. “Rene was alive, all the time. I didn’t even recognize him. The fault is mine.”

“No, the fault is on all of us,” Bruce corrected.

Terry looked over at them, still pacing. “So, how are we fixing it?” He saw no one had answer, and that made him even more impatient. “Come on! Come _on!_ We need to figure this out! We can’t let them get away with this!”

Bruce looked at Terry, impressed. “More and more, you sound like Batman.”

Terry appreciate the compliment but he couldn’t take any pride in it, right now. “Yeah, well… I’m just as much responsible for this as anyone. I saw what was in front of me and thought Stephen was guilty. I didn’t look at any other angles. Didn’t even occur to me to look into Rene’s death. That’s my fault.”

“Like I said, it’s on all of us,” Bruce admitted.

“Any idea on how to find them?” Hayate asked.

“Not yet.”

Terry folded his arms, “Bruce. There’s something I thought about. Something that’s really got me worried.”

“I know,” Bruce said. “We took precautions anyway, but now… it’s almost a certainty.”

“What certainty?” Hayate asked.

Terry looked at Hayate, “If the Graves know who Basem is, they know who we are.”

Hayate’s eyes widened. “No, that… Rene already knew of mine and Basem’s identities but…”

“And he probably figured out ours and told the rest of his kill squad.”

Hayate’s breath was stolen from him. “No. He…” He couldn’t speak, realizing Rene could very well use that information against them.

“We might need more security for the Manor,” Terry pointed out.

“I’ll take care of it,” Bruce replied. “And I’ll have more security measures placed at your house. Think there’s a chance to convince Max not to go back home until this is over?”

Terry shrugged, “Hard to say. She’s independent but… with Grace…”

“We’ll make it work, either way. Protecting Max and the baby are my top priority, Terry. Always know that.”

Terry managed a small grin, “Never questioned that.” His smile faded away, “We have to find out how the hell Rene became such a monster.” He looked at Basem, who still hadn’t moved yet. “And we better do it fast.”

* * *

Later the next day, Max and Sally had gotten off of work and went straight back to the Manor, on Bruce’s insistence. They were sitting on the bed in Sally’s room, watching _Frozen_ , trying to relax after everything that had happened.

Max looked over at Sally, seeing how distraught she was. “Wanna talk now?”

Sally was going to decline but sighed. “Basem won’t talk to me. He’s been a zombie since last night.”

“He just needs time.”

“Yeah?!” Sally said, with some edge to her voice. “Well, I’ve been giving him time! That’s all I’ve been giving him! What about me?” She sat back, folding her arms.

Max stared at her. “You’re not done. So, go ahead and get it all out of your system.”

Sally stared back at her, unsure.

“It’s okay. Go ahead.”

Sally growled and jumped to her feet, “I have been _patient!_ I have been _understanding!_ ” She started pacing, “But he won’t let me be there! He won’t let me… be his girlfriend. Like at all! He shuts himself off and shuts me out!” She groaned, “And, not only is keeping me out, a friend of his was a suspect and he didn’t tell me!”

“That’s what keeping you out means,” Max pointed out.

Sally stopped and narrowed her eyes, “I’m ranting, Max! I don’t need a _grammar critique_ of my ranting!”

Max put her hands up in defense. “Fair. Continue.”

Sally grunted, “I mean… I get it. Stephen died. That’s… horrible. And Rene… Rene killed him. Rene’s alive. He’s behind everything.” She exhaled, starting to calm down. “So… I guess… I kinda get it.”

Max noticed Sally get most of the anger out of her system and decided to weigh in. “This is really hard for him, Sal,” she said. “The only thing I hope is that you both don’t… break up over this.”

Sally shrugged, “I don’t want it to.”

“Then don’t let it. Let him grieve. Let him be mad.” Max sighed. “He needs to be right now. He’s got to be. Because… if he was okay after everything that happened… I don’t think I’d want you to be dating him.”

Sally sat back and nodded. She watched the movie and chuckled, quietly. “I wish I was Elsa. She was cool and that dress she made was killer.”

“I always wanted to be Moana,” Max smiled.

“Halloween costumes after you have the baby?”

“Does it have to be Halloween?”

Sally giggled and shook her head, “Nope. You in?”

Max smiled, “Definitely.”

* * *

Terry walked down the street where he and his allies battled the Graves last night; he was wearing his sunglasses as he looked over the area of the fight. He was observing everything without seeming to do so as best he could, in case one of the Graves was watching. He surveyed the damage, once again in horrified awe of Tumulus’s strength. While certainly not on Superman’s level, the villain’s power was well beyond anything Terry and Basem could handle on their own. While they did have Hayate, they couldn’t rely solely on him, especially with the rest of the Graves at Tumulus’s side.

What was needed was information. Terry remembered Tumulus mentioned something about people who hated the League. While those were a dime a dozen, there had to be a small list of who could turn a normal man into a beast of a superhuman.

He needed answers.

And he had one idea of where he could get them.

Terry pulled out his cell phone and dialed.

“ _What is it, Terry?_ ” Bruce asked.

“I have an idea,” Terry answered. “And you’re not gonna like it.”

“ _Try me._ ”

“I’m going to see Amanda Waller. I think she might be able to help.”

“ _You’re right. I hate that plan._ ”

Terry shrugged, “To be honest, I don’t like it either.” He sighed. “But…”

“ _Do it,_ ” Bruce ordered. “ _It’s our best shot._ ”

“Heading to Metropolis. Call you when I learn something.” Terry ended the call and surveyed the damage once more before returning to his car.

* * *

Basem sat in his room, alone. Everyone, sans Terry and Bruce, had knocked on his door to check on him, but Basem never responded and no one had dared walk in. Until that evening when Bruce, with Ace at his side, walked in carrying a tray food.

“You need to eat,” Bruce advised.

Basem looked at him, annoyed, but noticed that Bruce’s cane was hanging on his arm. “You shouldn’t be carrying a tray when you have a cane.”

“Ace was watching out for me.”

Ace barked once in confirmation.

“Besides, my house. Get over it.” Bruce set the tray down on the nightstand.

“Thanks,” Basem whispered.

Basem’s cell phone vibrated and he looked at it to see Bilal calling.

Bruce looked at the phone, as well. “Have you talked to them yet?”

Basem shook his head.

“You should. And soon.” Bruce headed for the door, “Come on, Ace.”

“What would you do?” Basem asked.

Bruce stopped at the door, with Ace looking up at Bruce as though he was curious as well.

Bruce looked back at Basem, “Don’t forget: I’m not as lucky as you to have parents who are worried about me.” He walked out of the room without another word with Ace right behind him.

Basem looked at his phone. But he just couldn’t reach out and pick the phone up. He couldn’t speak to his parents. His father was a hero, his mother was strongest woman he knew.

How could face them when he was such a failure?

* * *

Hours later, Terry drove up to Amanda Waller’s house. He parked in front of the gate and got out of the car, as the guards aimed their rifles at him.

Terry put his hands up, “I came to see Amanda Waller. My name’s Terry McGinnis.”

The guards looked at each other then back at him.

“Wait here,” one of the guards said. He got on his communicator and, after a minute, he looked back at Terry. “Follow me.”

Terry nodded and they walked toward the house. Once inside, he was lead to the common room where Waller was sitting in her easy chair, having a cup of tea.

Waller looked at Terry and smiled, “Ah! Young Mr. McGinnis.”

“Ms. Waller,” Terry smiled.

“He doesn’t seem have any weapons him, ma’am,” the soldier informed.

“I didn’t expect him to,” Waller replied. “Besides, if he did and he didn’t want them found, you wouldn’t find them.”

The soldier seemed distraught at that.

“Leave us be. I’ll entertain my guest.”

“Ma’am,” the soldier saluted. He left the room, closing the door behind him.

“Tea?” Waller asked Terry.

Terry considered it then shrugged, “Sure. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Waller started to pour the tea, “Have a seat.”

He walked over and sat in the easy chair next to hers.

“Didn’t think I would be seeing you again so soon, Terry,” Waller admitted.

“Yeah, kinda got an emergency,” Terry replied.

“Ah! I heard that some… rabble-rousers were causing trouble in Gotham.”

“‘Rabble-rousers.’ Yeah, that’s one way of putting it.”

“What seems to be the issue?” She handed him the cup of tea on a saucer.

“Thank you,” Terry took the tea. “These guys, calling themselves the Graves, have a hard-on for Nightrunner.”

“Basem Asselah,” Waller took a sip of tea.

He shook his head, “You know I know you know who he is.”

She smiled. “Maybe I like to show-off.”

“How come you can admit that but Bruce can’t?”

“He’s far more stubborn than I am. It’s why he’ll outlive me.”

Terry shook his head, “Well, anyway, their leader is guy calling himself Tumulus but he’s really Rene Leblanc.”

Waller took another sip of tea. “His death six months ago was a fake.”

“Yeah.”

“I hate it when people don’t stay dead.”

“That’s a problem I don’t have as much,” Terry said.

“Yeah,” Waller said. “ _Your_ generation has it easy. You kill a villain, they stay dead.”

“Aaaand now you’ve jinxed me!”

Waller smirked, “Sorry, kid.”

“I need your help,” Terry said.

“See? You need to work on being Batman. Bruce would’ve manipulated or threatened me.”

“Bruce isn’t afraid of you; I am. And I’m nowhere near smart enough to manipulate you.”

Waller chuckled. “There’s hope for you, yet, kid. Describe Tumulus’s powers to me.”

Terry proceeded to describe his abilities, along with the rest of the Graves and their connection to Malum.

Waller sat back, interlocking her fingers. “Hmm. That does sound familiar. In particular, that Thalia woman.”

Terry narrowed his eyes, inquisitively. “For real?”

Waller nodded. “I’ll look into it and get back to you when I have more information.”

“Thanks, Ms. Waller.” Terry set the down and stood up, “I better get back before something else happens.” He started for the door.

“Terry.”

He looked back and stared at Waller.

“This isn’t something Bruce will solve for you,” she declared. “You being here proves that. I know you have a kid on the way but these are the moments that will define you and prove why you’re needed. It’s these moments I always feared would come for you when you became Batman.”

“Don’t worry. I knew they were coming too.” He sighed. “Just not this much, this soon.”

“I’m sure. But be careful, kid. They may know who you are and they may not, but, regardless, they don’t need to know you. They know Nightrunner. And that could be all they need to break all of you apart.”

“Yeah. Let ‘em try.”

“Good attitude but, still, watch yourself. And watch Basem. This is all being done to break him. Tumulus wants him dead that bad, he won’t quit until he’s dead. Tumulus will kill Nightrunner, no matter the cost.”

Terry clenched his jaw. “Over my dead body.” He walked out of the room.

Waller took a sip of tea then whispered, “That’s what I’m afraid of, Terry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So, there is a GREAT writer called The Bloody Red Lantern on FanFic and he has series of Batman Beyond stories called "The Rise of Nightwing" and the stories inspired me when I was creating Tumulus and Thalia. I'll go into more detail later but, for now, let's just say that CADMUS isn't the only group experimenting with super powers. And go check out The Bloody Red Lantern's stories! They are GREATNESS!


	22. Chapter 22

** Chapter 22 **

It had been three days since Stephen’s death and Terry’s visit with Amanda Waller, and the Graves had gone back into hiding. Batman and Koutetsu were out searching and patrolling, while Runner stayed behind at the Manor. It wasn’t an ideal situation for any of them, but they couldn’t risk Runner being out in the field right now. Batman, Koutetsu, and Bruce knew Basem wasn’t focused enough to go out there just yet.

But, despite searching and patrolling and having the city monitored constantly, there was no sign of the Graves anywhere. Batman couldn’t help but feel this was part of Tumulus’s plan, as well. That left they’re only ace in the hole being Amanda Waller. She hadn’t contacted the team yet and the fact it was taking Waller so long to gather information left them worried.

Batman and Koutetsu came back to the Cave and walked toward the computer where Bruce was sitting.

“Any luck?” Bruce asked as they approached.

“Nothing,” Batman said. “Three nights and not a damn thing!” He ripped his mask off and threw it on the table in frustration. He growled out, “This is so damn stupid!”

“Terry,” Bruce said, calmly.

“Yeah, yeah, I know!” Terry rubbed his face and roared.

“I must admit I understand Terry’s frustration, Wayne- _sama_ ,” Hayate said. “Rene murdered Basem’s friend…” He paused. “… _my_ friend… and doesn’t have the courtesy to face us again.”

“He’s biding his time,” Bruce explained. “He knows Basem is either angry or defeated. He wants him to feel that way. For as long as he can.”

“And he wants us running ragged trying to find him,” Terry added.

“And if he can kill either of you…”

“He’ll destroy what’s left of Basem’s spirit.” Terry put his hands on his hips. “So, what now?”

“All we can do is keep searching,” Bruce shrugged.

“We must also be wary of Malum and the others,” Hayate said. “As odd as it is to say, Tumulus may not be our biggest concern.”

“He’s right.”

Terry sat down and exhaled. “So, we’re hunting down a group of supervillains who won’t hesitate to kill us. We have no idea where they are and we’re down a man. And all of our chips are on Amanda Waller.”

“And you call me depressing,” Bruce said.

“You’ve rubbed off on me, what can I say?” Terry got up, “I’m going home.”

“I still wish you and Max would stay at the Manor.”

“Agreed,” Hayate said. “We are _all_ still at great risk.”

“Yeah but Max is stubborn and so am I,” Terry said. “Besides, we’re ready for anything. And we don’t even know that they know who we all are. Hell, is the Manor even that safe?”

Bruce stared at Terry for a few seconds then raised an eyebrow.

“Okay. Fair. That was a stupid question.”

“Fine,” Bruce said. “But I’ll still be keeping an eye on the house.”

“I know.” Terry looked at Hayate, “You need anything?”

“No, thank you,” Hayate replied. “Be safe, Terry.”

“I’ll do my best.”

Terry headed back into the house, heading for the front door. Just as he was passing them main living room, he saw Basem descending down the stairs. They stared at each other in silence for a while. They hadn’t spoken to each other since Stephen’s death, and Terry knew Basem hadn’t talked to his parents yet, as both Bilal and Adeline had to call Terry since Basem wasn’t answering his phone.

Basem turned his gaze away and walked to the kitchen. Without a word.

Terry watched Basem until he disappeared from sight but couldn’t find any words to send after him. Terry exhaled and walked out of the Manor, heading home.

* * *

The following day, Max had a lunch planned with her father. It had been a while since they’d done that and the first time they’d been alone together since she and Terry announced the pregnancy. It would also be the first time Max had seen Joe since her panic attack of worrying about Terry ever leaving her a few days ago.

Max felt guilty for comparing Terry to Joe, but she felt just as guilty as still thinking of her father in that way. Since the night in Wayne Manor when Bruce and Basem tore Joe down, he’d worked, overtime, to make up for the lousy father he had been to Max and Mel.

Max walked into the restaurant and saw Joe already sitting at the table. He looked up at her, smiled, and gazed at her.

When Max was close enough, she said, “Hey, Dad.”

He just kept staring at her.

She asked, “What?”

Joe stood up and hugged his youngest daughter, “You’ve grown into such a beautiful woman, Max.” He kissed her on the cheek. “I’m so proud of you.”

Max started blushing as a tear escaped from her eye. “Thanks, Dad.”

They released the hug and sat down. After ordering drinks, Joe asked her, “So, how is everything?”

Max shrugged, “Eh. Going okay. A little stressful, that’s all.”

“Oh? How so?”

“Basem’s got some stuff going on. This, uh… old friend of his turns out isn’t a friend and he had another friend close to him die recently.”

Joe sat back, “Oh, my God. I’m so sorry to hear that.”

“Yeah, us, too.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

Max thought about it then shook her head, “I don’t think so. But, if there is, I’ll let you know.”

Joe shook his head, “Well, from what I remember of Basem, he’s a tough guy. He’ll get through this.”

“I’m hoping.”

“How’s Terry?”

She smiled. “Terry’s Terry. Freakin’ tough as nails. It almost doesn’t make sense how he holds up. He’s worried about me, about Grace, about Basem, about Sally, about everybody.”

“Including Mr. Wayne?” he asked.

“No one worries about Bruce Wayne. Trust me. He’s plenty tough.”

Joe chuckled. “And you? Who are you worried about?”

Max sighed. “Everyone. Including myself.”

“Worrying about you is up to Terry, your mother, and me.”

She smiled. “And all of you do that wonderfully.”

He smiled. “How is my future grandbaby?”

“She’s fine, last check with the doctor.”

“Good. Now, why are _you_ worried about you?”

She looked around, disappointed. “A lot of reasons but one more than others.”

“What would that be?”

“I… said something really stupid and Mel had to rip me apart for it.”

Joe thought back, “She did mention something about a talk you two had recently.”

“I was being stupid,” Max repeated.

“Max, sweetheart, you’re not stupid. Tell me what happened.”

Max looked at Joe and took a breath. “I… um… well…”

Joe could tell that something was stopping her. He imagined it probably had something to do with him. He did still have a lot to make up for. “Max, whatever it is, you can say it. Lord knows you’ve had every right to never talk to me again and you didn’t take it. Whatever it is you’re worried about saying, don’t.”

She nodded. “Okay.” She inhaled, “Okay.” She exhaled, slowly. “I… got nervous. Terry’s had to travel for work a lot, lately. And… I thought that… maybe… he would…”

Joe nodded, understandingly. “End up like me.”

Max lowered her head in shame. Joe had been doing much better and the fact that she still thought of him in the negative and projected that to Terry couldn’t make her feel lower if she tried.

“Terry? Like me?” Joe tried to hold back a chuckle but couldn’t help but laugh.

Max looked at Joe, confused. “Dad? Have you gone crazy on me? I mean, granted you’re in the right town for it but…”

“No, no,” Joe said, getting a hold of himself. “It’s just… Max, that is absolutely ridiculous. I mean, it really is. Terry? McGinnis? Your husband? Be like me?”

Max shrugged.

Joe gave Max a warm, caring smile. “Baby. Your husband is three times the man I was at his age. Hell, he’s three times the man I am at my current age.”

“You’re not that bad.” She smiled. “Not bad at all, lately.”

“Just you saying that means the world to me, Max. But, back to the matter at hand…” He leaned forward, “Max, Terry would never be anything like I was, especially not to you.”

She sighed. “I know.”

“When you two got engaged… I handled that completely wrong. I think I was confusing Terry for myself when I was his age. But… he just has so much maturity for a man… of any age, really.”

“Working for Bruce Wayne can do that to you.”

Joe chuckled, “It seems that would be the case.” He sat back. “You’re stressing yourself, baby. And I understand that. But don’t stress over things that will never happen.”

“Like Terry leaving me?” Max asked.

Joe nodded, “Like Terry leaving you. Trust me. When you’re a parent, there will be plenty to worry about. But don’t create situations that will never happen.”

Max leaned forward, “He really does love me, doesn’t he?”

“If he didn’t, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” He looked down, “He certainly forced a harsh light on me. And… Lord knows I needed it.”

“I… always felt bad about that. I never wanted to see you hurt, Dad.”

“Max, after everything I’ve put you and your sister through, my ego could use a little bruising. Hell, it needed twelve rounds with Rocky Balboa that it got.”

She giggled. “Thanks, Dad. For… sticking around. And… not hating any of us.”

“I should be thanking you for that, Max. In fact…” Joe took hold of his daughter’s hands. “Thank you.”

Max wanted to cry. A few tears did escape. “You’re welcome.”

He stared at her. “You have grown up to be an incredible woman. I am so proud of you.”

* * *

Two nights later, Tumulus was downtown, standing on top of a high-rise building. He stared at an apartment building across the street and retrieved a remote control from his pocket. He pressed a button on the remote.

Detonating bombs that destroyed the first three floors of the apartment building.


	23. Chapter 23

** Chapter 23 **

Batman and Koutetsu arrived in the sky over the apartment building in a matter of minutes. They witnessed the fire and the damage to the building and were almost dumbfounded.

“Oh, God,” Batman whispered.

“Heaven help us,” Koutetsu said.

“Let’s go, Koutetsu!”

Koutetsu headed down to the lower levels of the apartment complex where the fire was just beginning to spread to get everyone moving out of the building. Batman lowered the Batmobile down to the windows of the top floors and launched a few capsules that exploded into foam to take out some of the fires. Batman jumped out of the Batmobile to search the top floors for any victims still caught in the fire. As he searched, Batman could hear the sirens of the rescue crews approaching. So far, he didn’t find anyone in the top floor, leading him to the hope that the top floors were vacant.

Batman was beginning to check the next floor when an armored hand punched through a wall just before Batman was about to pass it. The wall gave way to reveal and black and green power armor. As oppose to the last armor Batman fought, this armor was the size of a regular person.

That didn’t do anything to lessen Batman’s frustration with this situation. He took a few steps back and shouted, “Oh, give me a damn break!”

The armor turned to face, the helmet completely covering the face of the operator. “Batman,” Malum said, smugly. “Finally, we can meet, face-to-face.”

Batman recognized Malum’s voice immediately. “Yeah, Paris was the last time we had a chance to talk. Your little walking tank was fun.”

“I liked it.” Malum looked at his hand and made a fist, “This is a bit more mobile. And more powerful.”

“With the last one just being a diversion. That really you in there?”

“Does that make a difference?”

“Yeah. Because I really wanna hit you!” Batman launched himself at Malum, tackling him through a wall.

* * *

Koutetsu was helping take all the civilians out of the apartment when he heard rumbling overhead. “What was that?” he asked.

“ _Malum is here,_ ” Bruce informed. “ _Terry is engaging him._ ”

“Do you wish…”

“ _No, stay with the evacuation effort._ ”

“Understood.”

“ _Also…_ ”

“Yeah?”

“ _Nightrunner is on the way to help you out,_ ” Bruce said.

“Is he up for that?” Koutetsu asked.

“ _Whether I am or not, I’m on my way,_ ” Runner said on the line.

Koutetsu sighed, “Alright.”

“ _Be there soon._ ”

* * *

Batman and Malum crashed into another bedroom; Batman being grateful this room was vacant, as well. He was starting to understand what was going on. This was all a set-up. Tumulus wanted them here. Batman heard Bruce’s and Koutetsu’s conversation over the comm lines and knew Runner was close. Batman could only try to ready himself for whatever was coming next. For the next moment, though, he needed to worry about Malum’s next attack.

Batman fought until he drove Malum back onto the crumbling roof of the building. Batman caught a brief view of rescue crews were starting to contain the fires and evacuating, but the building had already been heavily damaged and was becoming more unsafe by the minute.

Batman punched Malum back when he looked up at nearby building and saw Tumulus staring down at the scene. “He’s here,” Batman whispered.

Runner, who was helping get some people into transports, heard Batman over his comm and saw Tumulus, as well. Runner stared at Tumulus for a while and decided to go after him.

Bruce was monitoring everything through Runner’s mask. “ _No, Basem!_ ” he ordered.

“Sorry,” Runner said to Bruce. “But this isn’t your fight!” He threw himself from the apartment building, firing a cable that latched on to the other building and he started climbing up.

Batman tried to go after them, but Malum grabbed Batman’s arm and threw him down through the roof and crashing into the next floor; Malum followed after Batman to continue his assault.

* * *

After scaling the side of the building, Runner landed next to Tumulus, who stood still with his arms folded.

“Rene,” Runner said.

“Do you know how many people died the day Marie did?” Tumulus asked, keeping his gaze fixed on the apartment complex.

Runner’s voice caught for a second but he managed to answer, “Counting her, it was 35.”

“Yes. Thirty. Five. Because the League ‘acted quickly’ and saved as many as possible. Had they acted quicker… had _you_ acted quicker… it would’ve been 34.”

Runner started shaking. “What do you want from me?!” He heard police sirens approaching.

“To suffer.”

Runner gritted his teeth.

“I wonder…” Tumulus looked at Runner, “how many can I kill because you’re slow?”

Runner’s eyes went wide.

Tumulus lifted his left hand and snapped his fingers.

A flash appeared down below them and Troy appeared. He formed a ball of magic and threw it.

But it wasn’t aimed at the building.

He aimed it at the squad of five police vehicles flying toward the scene.

“NO!” Runner screamed.

The energy ball exploded in the midst of the police cars, destroying all of them and sending the wreckage hurtling to the ground.

Runner stared in horror at the scene.

Troy looked up at Runner and smiled. Runner could tell Troy was actually laughing.

“You will bring death to all who follow you,” Tumulus declared.

Runner looked at Tumulus.

“You will bring death to Gotham.”

Suddenly, Troy flashed next to Tumulus then they both disappeared.

* * *

From a window of the apartment building, Batman saw the police cars destroyed, staring at the wreckage in total shock.

“Well, looks like my job is done,” Malum said. “Ta-ta for now, Batman.”

Batman turned and looked at Malum, “YOU SON OF A BITCH!”

Malum blasted a hole in a wall and flew off. Batman flew after him, but he threw a tracker on Malum’s armor, first, for good measure. Batman followed Malum for as long as possible before a wave of sound hammered him out of the sky. Batman crashed on to another roof to see Thalia was the culprit. She waved at Batman before Troy appeared behind her, and they both disappeared in a flash of light.

Batman gritted his teeth before yelling at the sky, “DAMMIT!”

* * *

Minutes later, Batman joined Nightrunner and Koutetsu along with Commissioner Gordon as they looked over the wrecked police vehicles. More rescue crews arrived and went to work to try and save any officers they could.

Sadly, they found no survivors.

Barbara had a stoic look on her face, but her fists were so tight that her knuckles were turning white. Runner and Koutetsu didn’t dare approach her, but Batman moved past them, not having the fear of her that they did.

“Commissioner,” Batman said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Barbara took a breath but didn’t turn to face him. “I want this bastard,” she gritted through her teeth.

Batman moved his hand. “We’ll get him.”

Barbara turned and looked at Batman, “Ten. There were ten officers in those cars. That’s ten of _my_ officers that monster just killed. Add, at least, twenty civilians injured by the explosion and fire…” She took a deep breath. “We need to bring him down.”

“We’ll get him,” Batman repeated.

“We better.”

Runner stared at the destruction. He shook his head and whispered, “This is my fault.”

Koutetsu jerked his head back and looked at Runner, “What?”

“This is my fault,” Runner said, louder. Batman and Barbara looked at him, confused.

“What are you talking about?” Batman asked.

“He did this because of me.”

“He did this because he’s a maniac! Now, shut up!”

“But I caused this!”

“If you blew up my officers, then I should arrest you,” Barbara said.

“Maybe you should,” Runner replied. “He’s only doing all of this because of me.”

“Runner, shut the hell up!” Batman ordered. He got ahold of himself before he flew any further off the hand. He looked back at Barbara, “We’ll get Tumulus. Trust me.”

Barbara stared at Batman. “That’s the only reason I’m not telling you to get out of my way and let me handle this.”

“That’s fair.”

“But you better work fast, kid. Or he’s mine, I don’t care how much history he and Nightrunner have.”

“Once again, that’s fair,” Batman said. “You take care of your officers, Commish. We’ll handle Tumulus.”

Barbara nodded. She looked at Nightrunner again, who wouldn’t look her in the eye. Barbara walked away, with Koutetsu giving her a bow of respect.

After Barbara walked off, Batman immediately turned to Runner and shouted, “What the _hell_ is wrong with you?!”

“This is my fault!” Runner shouted back.

“That’s bullshit and you know it!”

“Really?! How do you figure that?!”

“You didn’t make Tumulus do any of this!”

“Really?!” Runner argued. “Why is he even in Gotham?! Huh?! Because I’m here!”

“So, what?!” Batman fired back. “SO WHAT?! You know how many guys are in Gotham because of me?! Mad Stan, Inque, Firefly! Hell, I’m still waiting for _Blight_ to show back up for no damn reason!”

“That’s not the same! _You_ didn’t get any of their sisters killed!”

“And you did?!”

“YES! Don’t you get it!? This is on me! All of it! Marie’s death and every death since then that Tumulus has committed is on my head!”

“If it was you behind this,” Batman fired back, “I’d haul you in but it’s not!”

“Gentlemen, please,” Koutetsu said, getting in between them.

Runner looked at Koutetsu then stared at Batman. “I think we finally found something we will never agree on.” He turned and walked off.

“Runner,” Batman groaned. “Hey! Runner!” He exhaled and threw a punch in frustration.

“Should we go after him?” Koutetsu asked.

Batman ran his hand across his face. “No. Let’s finish helping out around here.”

“And if the Graves attack again?”

“They won’t.”

“How do you know?” Koutetsu asked.

“You saw him,” Batman said, referring to Runner. “Tumulus got what he wanted. He won tonight.”

* * *

“YOU BLEW UP THE COPS?!” Blaze shouted at Tumulus. Tumulus, Troy, Malum, and Thalia had just returned to their base. Blitzkrieg was with them as well, listening to the report of the night.

“It was necessary,” Tumulus replied.

Blaze started to get short of breath, “You know what they do to cop killers, right?!”

“We’re killing superheroes,” Thalia reminded.

“Yeah and that’s dangerous, too, but, in prison, you’re a legend for taking down a hero. In prison, kill a cop? The guards deal with you. Specially. Not a fan.”

“With the amount you’re being paid, you can flee the country once this is done,” Malum said.

“But we killed cops!” Blaze reminded. “That changes the game! Always! Especially when you kill… how many was it, anyway?”

Malum shrugged, “Ten from the count I heard over the police radio.”

“Ten?” Blitzkrieg asked, narrowing her eyes.

“Great!” Blaze groaned. “Great! Just great! Ten lethal injections! FOR EACH ARM!”

“SHUT UP!” Tumulus shouted.

Blaze folded her arms and looked away.

“We will do what _ever_ is necessary to destroy Nightrunner! I don’t care how many corpses it takes!”

Blaze looked back at Tumulus, “So, that’s the plan, boss man? Destroy Nightrunner? Kill a few cops and blow up some poor people’s houses in the process? Then why not kill the hero when you had the chance?”

“Because he’s going to come to me,” Tumulus answered. “He’s going to beg me for death! Then and _only_ then will this end.”

Blaze rolled her eyes.

“Then… you’ll get _all_ your money and go wherever you want and do whatever you want.”

Blaze exhaled, “Fine. Just hurry up and finish this already. Or my price goes up.”

“Don’t worry,” Tumulus said. “We’re approaching the beginning of the end.” He turned and headed for the train car, “Runner will come to me and I will kill him myself.”

* * *

After two hours of surveying the damage and rescue efforts, Barbara was back sitting in her office. She now had the arduous task of beginning to contact the families of the officers who died. She rubbed the bridge of her nose in frustration when her phone rang. She answered, “Gordon.”

“ _Commissioner Gordon,_ ” the voice said. “ _This is Tumulus._ ”

Barbara seized up, immediately. “You bastard, you killed my people!”

“ _And I’ll kill more. If you don’t cooperate._ ”

Barbara exhaled. “What do you want?”

“ _I need you to deliver a message for me,_ ” Tumulus said.

“Why would I do that?”

“ _Because unless you want more dead citizens and cops, you’ll do what I say._ ”

* * *

Terry got home and went to his bedroom to find Max already asleep, as he expected. Despite the horrible night, he couldn’t help but smile a bit. Just the sight of Max brought Terry a sense of peace that he really needed on days like this. He walked over to bed, knelt down next to Max, and kissed her stomach.

“I have no idea what I’m doing,” Terry whispered, talking to the baby. “I can’t even convince my best friend that a maniac killing people isn’t his fault.” He took a deep breath. “I hope I don’t screw up that bad when it comes to you.” He exhaled. “Grace. You don’t know how much I love you already. You aren’t even here yet and I already can’t bear the idea of something happening to you.” He let out another sigh, rubbing the back of his head. He stared at Max’s belly in silence. “I just hope I don’t screw you up.”

“You won’t,” Max whispered.

Terry looked up and saw Max smiling at him. “Sorry,” he said. “I was trying not to wake you.”

“Don’t worry. I was waiting for you.”

He moved closer to her face and kissed her. “You need to sleep more.”

She shot him an indignant glare. “Hi, Kettle. My name’s Pot. Have we met?”

“Shut up.”

She giggled then sobered. “I heard what happened tonight. Are you okay?”

“No,” he replied.

“I’m sorry, baby.”

He shook his head, solemnly. “So many… they didn’t deserve it.”

“I’m sorry,” she said. “How’s Basem? Even more on edge?”

“Yeah. Tumulus is seriously inside his head. And he’s not leaving anytime soon.”

Max started stroking Terry’s cheek with her thumb.

“He’s blaming himself for everything going on when it’s not his fault. But I can’t convince him it’s not his fault.” He exhaled. “I’m worried about him.”

“He’s your brother,” she said. “You’re supposed to worry.”

“But why can’t I fix it?”

“You will. Once you bring in the Graves.”

“I’d rather just find Tumulus and put my fist down his throat.”

“I’d actually like to see that,” she said. “Hell, I’d feel better if you did. Still haven’t tracked them down?”

“I got a tracker on Malum but the signal was distorted,” he said. “Might have something to do with Troy’s magic hopping. We might have something soon, but no telling. Aside from that, I don’t know what else to do. Still waiting on Waller. Bruce has been running searches day and night but those guys stay off the radar.”

“Hard to do in Gotham.”

“Yeah.” He exhaled. “I’ll just call it a night for now.”

“Good. You need some sleep.”

He stared at her, lovingly. “I need you.”

She returned the look of love. “Right back at you.” She smiled. “But sleep would be great, too.”

He let out an exhausted breath. “Yes. Sleep is good.”

Just then, Terry’s phone vibrated and he looked to see it was Barbara calling. “The Commissioner?”

“She’s calling you?” Max asked, concerned.

“Yeah. Okay, if I wasn’t worried before, I am now.” Terry answered, “Barbara, what’s up?”

“ _Terry,_ ” Barbara said. “ _We have a very serious problem._ ”

“Oh, gee. Just when everything was going so well.”

* * *

Barbara called Bruce and Terry, simultaneously, to give them Tumulus’s message. After speaking on the phone with Barbara, Bruce sat in the cave for a while by himself, contemplating everything. He had told Terry to stay home and he’d handle telling Basem but Bruce knew better. Terry was on his way. Regardless, Bruce called Basem and Hayate down to the Cave.

“Is there a problem, Wayne- _sama_?” Hayate asked as he and Basem approached Bruce as he sat by the computer.

Bruce leaned back, interlocking his fingers. “Barbara got a call. From Tumulus.”

Basem’s feet stuttered to a stop as his body jolted.

Hayate’s eyes widened. “What does he want?”

Bruce looked at Basem, “Him.”

“What?” Hayate asked, looking at Basem, as well.

“He wants Basem to surrender himself,” Bruce explained. “Or…”

“Or what?” Basem asked, hurriedly.

“Or more people will die.” Bruce lowered his hands and took a few seconds before continuing. “Including and almost specifically…”

“Sally,” Basem whispered, horrified.

Bruce nodded.

Basem looked down at the ground. “Oh, God. He knows about her.” He looked at Bruce, “He must know about you, too.”

“Whether he does or doesn’t, I don’t care. Sally is our immediate and primary concern. He’s given us 48 hours to decide.”

“There’s nothing to decide!” Basem turned and walked toward where his suit was laying on a table. He snatched it up, headed around the corner, and started changing.

“Basem!” Hayate shouted. “My friend, we must discuss this! We cannot act hastily!”

“We aren’t discussing anything, Hayate!” Basem shouted back. “I won’t let him kill her! I won’t let him come within 50 _feet_ of her!” He rounded the corner, wearing his uniform except for his mask, which he was holding in his hand. “He won’t hurt her.” He shook his head, “I _can’t_ let him hurt her.”

“Basem…” Bruce said.

“You can’t stop me, Bruce! If I give myself up, this stops. Rene doesn’t come after Sally or you or Terry or Max or Hayate or anyone else.”

Bruce stood up, walked over to Basem, and placed a hand on Basem’s shoulder. “And what about Sally? What about your parents? What about Terry and Max? And Hayate, here. What will your death do to them?”

Basem stared back into Bruce’s eyes, “And what will he do to them if I don’t go?” He shook his head, “He killed Stephen without a second thought. Killed 10 officers, put countless innocents in danger without a _first_ thought. God knows what he’ll do from here. Max is pregnant, Tumulus knows my parents, and if he knows about Sally then he knows how much I…” He swallowed to keep from breaking into tears. “How much I love her,” he whispered.

Bruce understood that.

“I know you don’t view relationships like I do, but Sally… is one of the best things that happened to me after Marie died. I thought I’d shut myself down after her death. Sally brought me back. I can’t let her die, especially not for me.” Basem stared at Bruce, sincerely. “Bruce. I know we haven’t always seen eye-to-eye, but I’m begging you, _please_. Let me do this.”

Bruce stared into Basem’s eyes and could see the sincerity on his face. Bruce knew he wasn’t the one to stop Basem. Bruce moved his hand and stepped aside, “If this is your decision, fine. I won’t try to stop you again.”

Basem exhaled. “Thank you. I’m sorry, Bruce.”

“You have to do what you have to do.”

Basem nodded. He looked at Hayate, “Promise you’ll stay out of this.”

Hayate looked at Bruce, who nodded. Hayate exhaled, ruefully, and nodded.

“Thank you.” Basem exhaled and looked at Bruce. “Tell Sally… that I love her. And… I am so sorry.”

“Promise,” Bruce said.

Basem nodded. He looked at them both, “Good-bye.” He headed for the Nightbike. Bruce and Hayate looked at each other, concerned, as Basem was about to put on his mask.

Suddenly, a batarang sailed past Basem and lodge itself in ground right in front of him, cutting him off.

“They may not stop you,” a voice came from the shadows.

Basem, Bruce, and Hayate looked and saw Terry standing on the staircase from the house, donned in his uniform while holding his mask in his hand.

“But I sure as hell will!” Terry declared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Just to let you guys know: the ending scene was inspired by Nightwing VS. Robin from "Batman: The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul".
> 
> So, curious: who wants to see Batman VS. Nightrunner? Don't want to, you say? I have a feeling you're gonna change your mind. Once you see it. Get ready for this. You won't wanna miss it! See ya next time!


	24. Chapter 24

** Chapter 24 **

Bruce and Hayate looked back and forth between Terry and Basem as the brothers-in-arms stared daggers at each other. Terry descended down the stairs and walked toward Basem.

As Terry passed Bruce, the younger hero stopped and looked at his mentor, “I have never known you to be so full of crap.”

“He wasn’t going to listen to me,” Bruce said.

“And since when in the hell has that mattered to you?!” Terry shouted.

Bruce opened his mouth.

“And if you say when I stole the suit, I’m taking your cane and burning it!”

Bruce closed his mouth, impressed by the threat.

Terry looked at Basem, “And now for you, dumbass!”

“Stay out of this, Terry!” Basem warned.

“Not a chance! What do you wanna do? Go, give yourself up to that asshole, and let him kill you?”

“Better than everyone else dying!”

“And you think he’ll stop there?! Says who?!”

Basem looked away.

“You’re taking the easy way out and it’s a bullshit thing to do!” Terry argued.

“What do you know about it?!” Basem shouted. “You were ready to give yourself up to Shriek!”

“And I didn’t! I found a way to beat him!”

“There is no way to beat Rene! He’s stronger than us!”

“Then we fight smarter!”

“He knows us! He knows me! He’s already fighting smart!”

“Then we still fight smarter!” Terry motioned toward Bruce, “We have the greatest strategic mind in history standing right here!”

“AND EVEN _HE_ CAN’T OUTSMART HIM!” Basem screamed.

“SO WHAT?!” Terry shoved Basem. “Giving up is your answer?! You’re gonna go kowtow to him like a little bitch?!”

Basem stared at Terry in shock. Then, his face became rigid as breathed out, “Watch it, Terry.”

“Or what?! What are you really gonna do?! You’ve been wimping out all this time! What difference does me calling you a ‘bitch’ make? You’ve been Tumulus’s bitch for the past few days!”

“I said, watch it, Terry!”

Terry took a step closer to Basem. “And I said… ‘or what?’”

Basem stared at his best friend for a few seconds then looked down at his Nightrunner mask.

Terry followed Basem’s gaze to the mask then looked back up at Basem. He nodded, “So. It’s like that, huh?”

“If it has to be,” Basem replied. “Does it?”

Terry looked at his own mask then at Basem, “I guess it does. Can’t lie: part of me always wondered how this would play out.”

“I never wanted to find out,” Basem replied.

“Me, neither. So, let’s not do it. Stand down.”

“I can’t do that.”

They both knew there was only way to end this. Both men put on their masks.

“Don’t make me do this, Terry,” Nightrunner pleaded.

“You’re not giving yourself up to that piece of shit!” Batman replied. “You got me?!”

“He threatened Sally!”

“Yeah, I know that. And you being dead won’t help you or her. That’s why you’re not leaving.”

“You can’t stop me!” Runner launched his stinger bits at Batman who easily avoided them.

Runner ran for the Nightbike but Batman tackled him. They bounced along the ground before Runner kicked Batman away from him. Batman fired his cable and it wrapped around Runner’s left ankle, pulling him to the ground. Runner rolled around, got up, and stepped down on the cable to pull Batman off-balance. Batman rolled forward and launched himself at Runner tackling him again.

“Terry, stop it!” Runner shouted.

“No!” Batman growled. He grabbed Runner by the shirt, “ _You_ stop trying to leave!”

“Terry. I’m sorry I have to do this.”

Runner threw a fist, connecting with Batman’s cheek, then kicked him off. Batman rolled along the ground before he stopped and rubbed his cheek.

“Oh,” Batman said. “So. It really _is_ like that.”

“Stay out of my way,” Runner said, getting to his feet. “You won’t win this.”

“Looks like we disagree about a lot these days.”

Batman suddenly rushed at Runner in a speed that no one was accustomed to Terry reaching and kicked Runner right the chest, driving him to the ground.

Runner looked up, shocked. Even Bruce and Hayate were wide-eyed at the attack.

“Now,” Batman said, “you really wanna do this?”

“You’ve been holding out,” Runner said as he got to his feet.

“Call it what you want. I just don’t reveal everything I need to unless necessary. Can’t think of a better time.”

“Fine then. If I win, I leave.”

“No deal. Because even if you punch the hell out of me, I’m not letting you leave.”

“I’m not letting you stop me!” Runner charged at Batman.

The two heroes brawled with each other with everything they had. They started with all of the technique they’d learned over the years but, purposefully, didn’t use any major gadgets or explosive devices. They even didn’t use batarangs or stinger bits after a while. Another few minutes and the fight came down to plain fisticuffs.

They slugged at each other with everything they had. Batman could only do what he could to knock out his best friend to keep him from going anywhere. Nightrunner just wanted to slow Batman down long enough to make a run for his Nightbike. Batman could tell they were both getting exhausted, but he knew Runner well-enough to know he would have to render the other hero unconscious to stop him. Terry knew he had to reach Basem.

He had to.

“You need to stop this!” Batman yelled, punching Runner again.

“No!” Runner yelled. He threw a punch but Batman dodged. “Get out of my way!”

Batman came up with an uppercut that took Runner off of his feet. “I’m telling you to stop!”

Runner landed hard on his back. He sat up, breathing heavily. “He killed Stephen! Killed cops! Innocent people are being targeted and killed because of me!”

“How many times are you gonna tell me that?! Huh?! Until you expect me to say ‘yeah, you’re right, I’m wrong, go die, it’s all good’?! Keep dreaming, brother!”

“YOU IDIOT!” Runner jumped up in flash and tackled Batman. They both flew off the edge of a cliff. They fell into the darkness of the cave, landing hard on another cliff. They were both exhausted and took time to get their breath back.

Hayate and Bruce walked over to edge and looked down.

Hayate looked at Bruce, “Are you sure we should not…”

“Let them be,” Bruce answered. “They need this.”

“You don’t know anything!” Runner shouted at Batman, as they pushed themselves to their feet. “You would be doing the same thing if this was you!”

“Yeah,” Batman said then he shouted right back, “And you’d be stopping me! DON’T ACT LIKE YOU WOULDN’T!”

Runner opened his mouth but couldn’t speak. He knew Batman was right.

Taking advantage of Runner’s pause, Batman rushed forward and slugged him across the face, sending Runner face first into the ground. When he saw Runner was staying down for the moment, Batman realized he may have actually won the fight but not the war yet. He exhaled and fell on his back.

Bruce and Hayate leaned over the edge and took notice that the two had, seemingly, punched all the fight out of each other. Slowly, Batman and Runner started to sit up, straining as they did so. Batman managed to sit up straight, while Runner just leaned on his elbow. They stared at each other for a while, almost in surprise at the fact they just fought each other and with the intensity they did.

But Batman had to quickly move past that shock. There was still work to do here. “What are you thinking?!” he shouted. “Huh?! Just give yourself up and it all stops?!”

Runner stared at Batman, silently.

“Because if you think that shit’s gonna happen, you’re a freakin’ stupid-ass dreg! Tumulus’ll kill you then what? You think Malum or Blitzkrieg or Troy or Blaze will just pack up and go back to wherever? They formed a damn Injustice Gang to come after you and you think it _stops_ with you?!”

Runner looked down at the ground.

“You’re smarter than this, you moron!” Batman insisted. “You sure as hell ain’t acting like it right now but you are! You would put Sally through losing you?! Put your parents through that?! And what about me?! And Max! And Bruce, Hayate, and your friends in Paris! Did you even stop to think about them?! Stop being a stupid-ass for a minute and get a damn grip on yourself!”

Runner exhaled, closing his eyes. He did think about everyone but not in the way he should have. He was caught up in his emotions at his failures and Tumulus’s constant attacks, which was probably exactly what Tumulus wanted. Batman was right.

“I’m so sorry, Terry,” Runner declared.

Batman calmed down, realizing he finally got through to his brother. He took a few deep breaths. “It’s all good.” He got up, walked over, and offered Runner a hand up.

Runner took it and stood to his feet.

Terry took off his mask, Basem did the same.

“It’s okay, man.” Terry placed his hand on Basem’s shoulder. “We cool?”

Basem nodded, “We’re cool.”

“Good.” Terry pulled him for a hug, which Basem returned. They separated and Terry patted Basem’s shoulder then looked up at Bruce and declared, “I really, _really_ hate you!”

Bruce smiled.

“You knew I was on the way and that I’d stop him, didn’t you?”

“That and I figured when you heard him screaming about leaving,” Bruce added. “And since you started changing before walking down the steps, you would be able to talk more sense to him than I ever could.”

“YOU KNEW I WAS THERE?!” Terry shouted.

Still smiling, Bruce simply walked back to the computer. Terry growled in frustration, throwing his head back.

“You’re such a _jackass_ , Bruce!”

Basem laughed. He actually laughed. “Damn, he _is_ a lot smarter than us.”

“Stop saying that out loud!” Terry ordered. “His frikkin’ ego’s big enough!”

Terry launched himself and Basem back up to the upper level. As they walked over to the Batcomputer, Hayate looked at them both, quizzically.

“Hayate, you alright?” Basem asked.

“I don’t know if I could defeat either of you in one-on-one combat,” Hayate admitted.

Terry laughed. “You probably could. I was just way too stubborn just now.”

“I don’t think that’s the only time.”

“You’re extremely observant, Hayate,” Bruce said.

“Oh, you shut up!” Terry shouted. He grabbed his side, “Ow. That really hurts.”

“You should probably go home and rest.”

Terry stared at Basem, “You promise not to be a jackass?”

“You know I can’t promise that,” Basem replied.

“Fine. Promise not to leave.”

“I promise. For now.”

“Fine. I’ll take it.” Terry started to walk off but stopped. He looked at Basem. “Go talk to Sally.”

“She doesn’t need to know about this,” Basem said.

“Wanna go another round? Screw my ribs. I can kick your ass again.”

Basem actually recoiled slightly. “Why tell her?”

“Because she’s been in these trenches with us. With you. And, if this happened to me, you know you’d want me to tell Max. You’d make me.”

“You’re married to Max,” Basem reminded.

“Not going there and I’m done arguing with you,” Terry said. “Tell her, moron.” He walked toward the staircase, “I’m tired. I’m going home.”

Once Terry reached the stop of the staircase, Basem called out, “Terry.”

Terry stopped.

“Thanks.”

Terry smiled. “Anytime.” He exited the cave.

Basem looked at Bruce and Hayate, “I’m, uh… gonna go talk to…”

“Go,” Bruce said. “We’ll come up with a plan about Tumulus.”

Basem nodded. He left the cave and headed upstairs.

“How do you think that will go?” Hayate asked.

“You saw him fight with Terry,” Bruce said. “It’s possible Basem will be in for another battle tonight. But… I have feeling this one won’t be as bad.”

“I hope so. He deserves a break.”

“He’ll get one.”

* * *

Basem walked to Sally’s room and stopped in front of her door. He thought about everything Terry said and what Tumulus was doing to get to him. Basem had to talk to Sally, that much was true; it was what he had to say that was going to be the hardest thing he’d ever have to do.

Basem knocked on Sally’s door. “Sally?”

He didn’t hear anything.

“Sally.”

Sally groaned, “Hold up.” She crawled out of bed and opened the door. She saw Basem and snapped fully awake. “Oh! Babe! Hey.”

“Hey,” Basem said. “Uh… can we talk?”

That alone made her happy. “Of course! Yes! Yes, yes! Get in here!”

Basem smiled and walked inside her room, Sally closed the door behind him.

“So,” she said, nervously, “what’s up?”

“I had a fight with Terry,” he said, simply.

“Well, duh. You two always fight.”

“No. Like an actual fight. A… fully-suited-up fist fight.”

Sally’s eyes widened. “What?” she whispered.

“Yeah, uh…” Basem exhaled. “Tumulus. He made contact with the Commissioner.”

“Okay but what the hell does that have to do with you fighting Terry? Like in a for real fight?”

Basem paused. “Tumulus threatened Gotham. And…” He stared at her.

Sally was expecting him to say more, but, at his silence, she understood. “Me.”

He nodded.

“He really does know about me.”

“Yeah.”

She felt her fear coming on but took a few breaths. “Okay. Okay. So… what are we going to do?”

“I don’t know,” he said, “but he gave us 48 hours to decide.”

“Do we have a plan yet?” she asked.

He stared at her for a while.

“Basem?”

“I have one.”

“What?”

“You have to leave.”

She stared at him in disbelief. “What?”

“You have to leave,” he repeated. “Gotham. You have to leave Gotham. You have to leave me.”

Sally shook her head in disbelief, “I don’t know where in the blue hell you thought that shit was gonna happen but get it the hell out of your mind! NOW!”

“Sally…”

“What?! What more could you say right now?!”

“It would probably be better if just forget about me!” Basem said, hurriedly. He closed his eyes and awaited the backlash.

Sally stared at him then any fear she had was replaced with rage. “You egotistical, self-centered, high-and-mighty _jackass_ who I’m in love with! Damn you!”

“Sally…”

“Don’t you ‘Sally’ me, right now! Don’t! Are you even remotely trying to break up with me?! Now?! Right now?! For what?! Tumulus?! You expect me to leave you when a homicidal maniac is after you! You expect me to leave you at all?! Short of you cheating on me or abusing me, both of which I’d kill you for myself, I’m not leaving you! Ever!”

“You have to leave!” Basem pleaded. “This is for your own good!”

Sally laughed, sarcastically. “My own good?! My own good! You know what other people would describe as ‘for my own good’? Not living in Gotham! Not dating a guy who’s a superhero! Not even being in Bruce Wayne’s presence for an extended period of time!”

“I’m not talking about everyone else…”

“You what _I_ decide is for my own good?! Staying in the city where my pregnant best friend is! Staying in the same city as some of people I care about most! Getting to know who Bruce Wayne really is! Being in love with a man who is one of the kindest, sweetest, most considerate people I’ve ever met! Even if he’s being a dumbass right now!”

Basem stared at her, not knowing how to respond. He shook his head. “This is to keep you safe.”

“Screw safe,” Sally said. “I already told you all of this, in one way or the other.”

“That was before we knew for sure Rene knew about you. We know he does now.”

“And?”

“And he’ll come for you.”

“So, what? You, Terry, Bruce, and Hayate won’t let that happen.”

“We haven’t stopped him so far. Rene’s become so strong.”

“First off,” Sally said, “ _stop_ calling Tumulus by that name. Rene wouldn’t have killed Stephen. Rene’s gone.”

Basem looked away.

“You’re going to get him.” She stepped closer to Basem. “You’re going to win this.” She placed her hand on his cheek. “And you’re going to do it with me right here.”

He looked back at her, “Sally…”

She kissed him, wrapping her arms around him and deepening the kiss. Basem couldn’t fight the feeling at all. It was a relief and a reassurance. They broke the kiss and he saw tears falling from her eyes.

“Sally,” Basem breathed out.

“I don’t care what Tumulus wants to do to us,” Sally declared. “He’s not going to. I love you. I won’t let anything like this, like a jackass like him, break us up.”

“I can’t let you…”

“I _want_ to. Let me. Please.”

“I’m trying to protect you.”

“You’re gonna do that anyway. You want me safe and protected? Fine. I’m staying right here. With you.”

“Sally…”

“Say you love me.”

“What?”

“Say it, Basem. Say you love me.” Sally smiled, ruefully. “I love you, you dumbass. Say it back.”

Basem stared at her and, as badly as he wanted not to say it in hopes that it would get her to leave Gotham, he found he couldn’t say something so untrue. He declared, “I love you, Sally Croft.”

She smiled, happily, and kissed him. “You’re such an idiot sometimes.”

He smiled a bit. “I guess I am.”

“Forget about all of this. Just for tonight. Tumulus, the Graves, all of it. Let’s just forget it for tonight.”

“I want to,” he said. “I really want to.”

She took his hand and motioned toward the bed. “Stay with me. We’ll put this all behind us. Just for tonight.”

He stared at her and kissed her again. “I love you.”

She smiled again, “I know.”


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I want to, again, thank The Bloody Red Lantern from FanFic for the inspiration of the plot element of how Rene became Tumulus.

** Chapter 25 **

Basem awoke the next morning with Sally’s arm draped across his chest. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “I love you,” he whispered.

She smiled. “I love you, too.” She opened her eyes and stared at him. “You okay?”

“Not really. But… right now… it doesn’t hurt as much.”

She kissed his cheek. “I feel the same way.” She laid her head on his chest, “What are you going to do next?”

“Probably keep looking for the Graves,” Basem answered. “Honestly, I don’t know. Terry said he’s waiting to hear back from Amanda Waller. She might have some more news. Anything that can help us catch them. Before…”

“It’s okay. I know they’re threatening me.”

“I don’t like bringing it up.”

“It’s not your fault.”

He stared into space.

“Basem?” she asked.

“I’m not so sure about that.”

Basem and Sally decided to spend the day together, with Sally even calling in to work and not going to class. That night, Terry and Max came to the Manor with Terry heading straight for the Cave. Max went to go see Sally and Basem, finding them both in the dining room.

“Hey, guys,” Max smiled.

Sally smiled, “Hey, girlie.”

Basem nodded at her, “Hey, Max.”

“Mind if I join?” Max asked.

“Please.”

Max sat down and stared at Basem, “Terry told me what happened last night.”

Basem looked away.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Basem answered. He looked at Max and chuckled, “I didn’t know Terry could fight like that. I mean… when he’s trying? Damn.”

Max smiled, “He’s really good as physical movement.”

Sally stared at Max’s stomach, “I’d say he is.”

Max laughed, “Shut up.”

Basem chuckled. He looked toward the study, “Terry went to the cave?”

“Yeah.”

Basem took a deep breath and stood up.

“If you fight again, make sure I’m there,” Max said.

Basem looked at Max, curiously. “Why?”

“Because that’s a fight I wanna see! Duh!”

Sally burst into laughter while Basem smiled and rolled his eyes.

Basem walked down to the cave, finding Terry staring at the computer screen along with Bruce and Hayate. All three turned around and watched Basem as he approached.

Basem, sheepishly, walked up to Terry, “Hey.”

Terry smiled, “Hey, brother.”

Basem took a deep breath, “Look, uh, Terry… last night…”

“Forget about it.” Terry patted Basem’s shoulder, “It happened. We dealt with it. Time to get back to work.”

Basem exhaled, “Yeah. So, we good?”

“We’re good.”

Relief washed over Basem. “Good. Where are we?”

“Still searching,” Bruce answered. “The Graves are keeping quiet. I’m guessing Malum’s money and influence is helping them stay out of contact.”

“What we need to do something about Sally,” Terry said. “And, at least for the next couple of days, I think I can convince Max to stay at the Manor.”

“That’ll ease my mind a bit,” Basem admitted.

“We have around 24 hours to meet Tumulus’s deadline.”

“How do you think he will fulfill his threat?” Hayate asked.

“I’ve been keeping an eye on Sally’s apartment,” Bruce answered. “So far nothing out of the ordinary.”

“And the most important part about the apartment is here,” Basem added.

“So, that rules that out. The school’s been pretty quiet, too, and the hospital where she works.”

“That just leaves here,” Terry surmised.

“If they come here,” Basem said, “they could get down _here_. Bruce, they could get the Cave and learn everything. About you.”

“A price that’ll be paid if it must be,” Bruce declared. “I honestly don’t care about that.”

Basem stared at him, appreciatively. “Bruce…”

“Plenty of people know who I am. More than I like but it happens. This isn’t about my legacy as Batman. This is about protecting innocent people who didn’t sign up for this life.”

“She kinda did when she decided to date me.”

“No,” Bruce replied. “She signed up for _you_. Not _this_. Not to be targeted by a madman who wants baseless revenge.”

Basem opened his mouth.

“Yes, it is baseless,” Bruce said before Basem could argue. “You didn’t kill Marie and you did all you could. Nothing about that was your fault.”

Basem closed his mouth and folded his arms.

“Wise words from Wayne- _sama_ ,” Hayate declared.

“He sometimes has a few,” Terry smirked.

“Wiseass,” Bruce said, smirking as well.

Terry chuckled then sighed. “Anyway… it would be nice if Waller would just call us back with some info.”

Suddenly, Terry’s phone started ringing, causing all of them to stop immediately.

“Okay, that… is really terrifying.” Terry answered the phone, “You heard me talking about you, didn’t you?”

“ _I would say ‘yes, because my ears were burning,’_ ” Waller said, “ _but I’m old. My ears are always burning._ ”

“That’s probably because people are always talking about you. And probably always will.”

“ _You’re probably right. At any rate, I need you to come see me. I have news._ ”

“That is a good thing, right?” Terry asked.

“ _In its own way,_ ” Waller replied.

“I’ll take it. I’ll be there as soon as possible.” Terry ended the call.

“Get going,” Bruce said. “We’ll keep searching.”

* * *

A couple of hours later, Terry was back at Waller’s estate. She met him at the door, “Good to see you, Terry.”

“You, too,” Terry replied.

“Let me cut to the chase: what I found isn’t good.”

“That is so _not_ shocking at this point I just need hat saying ‘It’s Not Good News.’”

“You should’ve asked. I have stock in a company that makes them.” Waller led him into the living room, invited him to have a seat, and began pouring tea, “How much do you know about Greek mythology?”

“Hercules, Amazons, a few gods, and that’s about it,” Terry answered.

She smiled. “I thought so.” She handed him a teacup, “All legends have a speck of truth to them. But, as you well know, a speck could be so much more.”

“Considering I have Wonder Woman saved in my phone contacts, yeah, I believe ya.”

Waller chuckled, took her teacup and sat down, inviting Terry to do the same. “Actually, it’s funny you bring up Wonder Woman. In some ways, she’s responsible for a lot. Her and Superman.”

“How so?” Terry took a sip of tea.

“They were some of the first: beings who appeared human but, by their own nature and nothing else, were superior to humans. That started the train rolling of people who wanted to experiment with improving mankind. Give them superpowers or, in some extremes, make them gods.”

“A little bit of Project Cadmus slipping into this?”

“We weren’t the first to try things like that,” Waller defended. “Despite my efforts and few lapses in sanity, we weren’t the last.”

“So, one of these groups got a hold of Rene?” Terry asked.

“That seems to be the case. From what I learned, Thalia is a member of the Moirai.”

“Moirai?”

“Here’s the short version,” Waller said. “In Greek mythology, the Moirai were often known as the incarnations of destiny. They were called the Fates in English.”

“I think I remember a movie about that,” Terry mused.

“In the mythology, there’s only supposed to be three of them but, with the group that’s currently out there, there’s been evidence to the contrary. They exist as a group of individuals whose power have been augmented.”

“How’d they get Rene? More importantly, how do we stop them?”

“From the encounters I’ve come across, their bodies are designed to take all sorts of punishment,” Waller explained.

“Yeah, I noticed,” Terry said. “But I think Hayate was able to hurt Tumulus. If barely.”

“Extreme force can damage them. It just takes a lot of it. They’re not as strong as Superman, nowhere near. And, as powerful as they are, they’re still human. It’s also a matter of their mental state.”

“Great. Anything else?”

“Yes,” Waller said. “Certain metals can penetrate their skin.”

“I need a holy blade, don’t I?” Terry asked.

“They’re trying to be Greek gods, so, yeah. But you don’t have time for that. You’re just going to have to give it your all in this, Terry. Their skin is hard to penetrate but they have other weak points, like any other human.”

“Getting to those points are what’s nearly impossible,” Terry mused.

“Never said it was going to be easy,” Waller added.

“Never is.” Terry took a deep breath, set the tea cup down, and leaned forward. “Rene. How the hell did he get hooked up with a group like this?”

“They approached him prison. He was quite vocal about the ‘evils’ of the Justice League and how they weren’t real heroes.”

“Do we know who approached him?”

“An agent of the Moirai,” Waller said. “A true believer, you could say. They tend to attract runaways, people that common society won’t miss. The man killed himself about an hour after he approached Rene. They had others inside the prison who began the early part of Rene’s treatment to give him the powers. When he was ready, they set up a fire at the prison to fake Rene’s death to get him out and finish his treatments. The rest you know.”

Terry rubbed his forehead, frustrated. “Who the hell are these guys?”

“Dedicated.”

“Tell me about it.” Terry exhaled, dropping his hand. “How did get hooked up with Malum and Troy? Are they part of the Moirai?”

“No. But we think the Moirai and Malum had business together at some point or another. The same goes for Troy. They knew Nightrunner went to Gotham, and they would have to fight you and possibly Basem’s friends from Paris, so, best to join forces. I think, between Malum and Blitzkrieg, that’s how they’re keeping Basem’s friends in Paris occupied. For now, anyway.”

It was a lot of information, only time would tell how much of it would be useful. Terry nodded, “Thanks for the information, Ms. Waller. Hopefully, it’ll help.”

“I’m sure it will,” Waller said. “You’ll make it work. But, actually, there’s _another_ reason I called you here, Terry.”

Terry stared at her, questioningly, “Okay. What’s that?”

“Did you know there were a few Kobra soldiers, who captured Rene, that survived?”

Terry’s interest was piqued at hearing that. “No. Were they interrogated?”

“Until their toes fell off.”

Terry stared at Waller, blankly. “I can’t tell if you’re joking and that scares the crap out of me.”

Waller just smiled. “Did you ever wonder why they kept Rene alive when they caught him and didn’t kill him right away?”

Terry’s face hardened. “Believe it or not, that thought did cross my mind more than once.”

“I believe you. Well, it turns out before they were about to get rid of him, he screamed the Justice League would save him. He said, ‘my sister is in the League.’”

“Are you freakin’ kidding me?!” Terry threw his back against the chair.

“They kept him alive to lure the League there,” Waller informed.

Terry’s eyes widened. “Wait a minute. Then…”

“Yes. Basem didn’t get Marie killed. Her brother did.”

“I need to get back to Gotham.”

“Yes, you do.”

* * *

Terry hurried back to Gotham and headed straight for the Cave, explaining everything he learned to Bruce, Basem, and Hayate once he was there.

Basem looked at Terry in shock, “He _told_ them?!”

“Yup,” Terry answered.

Basem threw his head back then ran his hands over his face. “He couldn’t have! He wouldn’t have done that!”

“He did.”

“He wouldn’t!” Basem screamed.

“Basem,” Hayate said, calmly.

Basem stared at Hayate then at Bruce and Terry. He slowly shook his head, “He… it’s impossible.” He walked away from the group, heading deeper into the cave.

“We’ll deal with that later.” Bruce went back to the computer, “I’ve heard of the Moirai before, and I’m disappointed I didn’t put it together sooner.”

“You’ve faced them before?” Hayate asked.

“No, they only recently started making a name for themselves. Within the last ten years, give or take. Regardless, this gives us more information than we had before. We’re not going to waste it.”

Terry folded his arms, “So, now we know. What do we do?”

“We hunt them down,” Bruce said.

“Works for me.”

* * *

Dressed in common clothes to remain as inconspicuous as possible, Blaze was sitting in a diner in downtown Gotham. She had a burn phone in her hand and was twirling it over again. If she did this, she would be saying good-bye to a lot of money. A _lot_. If she didn’t and when she was caught by the police, knowing it was just a matter of when, she’d never see the light of day again.

Then again, Tumulus would kill her if he found out what she was considering. Actually, she would be lucky if he just killed her.

Blaze shook her head. She was dead, either way. “Screw it.”

She dialed.

“ _911, what is your emergency?_ ” the operator asked.

“I need to talk to Commissioner Gordon,” Blaze answered. “I have information on the recent attacks in Gotham.”


	26. Chapter 26

** Chapter 26 **

After getting a message from Barbara about Blaze’s call, Batman and Koutetsu met with Blaze downtown, meeting her behind a train station. They left Basem at the cave, out of fear that this could be a trap. Batman and Koutetsu stared at Blaze, indifferently, as she sat on an overturned trash can.

“Okay, run this by me one more time,” Batman requested. “You wanna turn on the rest of the Graves?”

Blaze groaned, “God, I hate that name. Look, I like money. Love it. But… I can’t get behind what this guy wants.”

“Why?” Koutetsu asked.

“Because murdering innocent people? I ain’t down with that.”

“But you are okay with killing prison guards and prisoners who are just trying to serve their time?” Batman asked.

“Look, that wasn’t me!” Blaze argued.

“Or the cops?”

“That wasn’t me either!”

“You didn’t do much to stop it,” Batman pointed out.

Blaze rolled her eyes, “Okay, fine, whatever! I’m not a saint! But… there’s a line. And as far as stopping it… hey, Tumulus scares the shit out of me.”

Koutetsu shrugged, slightly, conceding. “His powers are terrifying.”

“So, why are you turning on him?” Batman asked Blaze.

“This job was all about fighting Batman,” Blaze said. “That’s all I was told. That would’ve been a deal breaker but I was paid. A _lot_ of money. Half of it, which is already in my bank account, was enough to buy me a mansion in Metropolis and set me up for life. Then I moved the money again because I didn’t trust these people.”

“And yet you trust us?”

“You guys have never killed people at random. I can take that. Well, you guys haven’t. Nightrunner is iffy. But from what I’ve seen of the guy… I dunno. I’m not sure.”

At that, Batman was left very curious. “What did Tumulus tell you about why he’s after Nightrunner?”

“That he killed his sister,” Blaze replied. “That he wanted revenge for that.”

Batman scoffed, “He didn’t tell you everything, then.”

“Do you know Nightrunner’s true identity?” Koutetsu asked. “Or ours?”

Blaze shook her head, “No, Tumulus kept that to himself. Don’t think he trusts us. Can’t blame him. A lot of that going around.” She looked back at Batman, “Hey, what do you mean he didn’t tell me everything?”

“If he thinks Runner killed his sister, he’s wrong,” Batman said.

“What do you mean?”

“Long story.”

“Okay, give me the short version, because that was the only thing that made _any_ of this _kinda_ okay!” Blaze demanded.

Batman folded his arms. He was never going to give a villain all of the details but he could tell a short version. “Okay. Basically, Tumulus’s sister died in a terrorist attack. Runner was trying to save her, but she died anyway. Runner did everything he could, but…” He paused and shook his head, “it was just too late.”

Blaze’s eyes went wide as she slowly stood up, “Hold up. Wait, wait, wait, wait.” Her mouth fell agape and she paced for a few seconds. “You mean to tell me, we started a war with you guys… over a case of… bad timing?”

“That’s a really short way of putting it but…” Batman shrugged, “yeah. That’s it.”

Blaze’s jaw dropped and she continued to pace. She couldn’t believe it. Even with the money, this felt like a betrayal and it wasn’t worth it. She stopped pacing and her face hardened. “We’re based in an abandoned, underground train station on the edge of the city. It’s underneath some old factory or something. I can tell you how to get there.”

“Thank you, Blaze,” Koutetsu expressed.

“I don’t need thanks, cutie. I need to be able to sleep at night. After all this shit, it won’t happen right away but… this’ll be a start.”

“We’re going to get you to a safe place,” Batman said. “Somewhere the Graves can’t get to you.”

“You’ll be safe,” Koutetsu said. “You have our word.”

“I’m not worried about me,” Blaze said. “Do what you have to. But I need you do something for me,” she said, looking at them both. “For when you see Tumulus.”

“What’s that?” Batman asked.

“Kick his ass.”

* * *

Batman and Koutetsu got Blaze to a safe house that Bruce had access to, informing Barbara where Blaze would be until they settled this business with the Graves. Batman and Koutetsu met up with Nightrunner, staring down at the old factor Blaze told them about; all three apprehensive about going in. It was an old automotive factory that a train station did, indeed, run under back in the day, according to Bruce.

“Are we sure we can trust her?” Runner asked.

“Absolutely not,” Batman answered. “But it’s the only shot we got. I’d rather take it and risk being wrong, than miss it when it could be our only chance.”

“Well said, Batman,” Koutetsu agreed.

“What about the old man’s ‘secret weapon’?” Runner asked.

“We can’t wait on that,” Batman answered. “We know where the Graves are now. If we can take them down, we don’t need it. Besides… I don’t think he wants to use it.”

“That’s fair.” Runner looked at Koutetsu and smirked, “So, are we gonna ignore the fact that Blaze called you ‘cutie’?”

Koutetsu exhaled, ruefully, and looked at the sky before looking back at his allies. “I thought we agreed not to discuss that.”

“No, _you_ said we shouldn’t discuss that,” Batman corrected. “I agreed we _probably_ shouldn’t. But I changed my mind.”

“And I never agreed to anything like that,” Runner informed. “And you know me, Koutetsu: I _wouldn’t_ have agreed to anything like that.”

Koutetsu shook his head.

“So, we ready?” Batman asked.

Runner and Koutetsu nodded.

* * *

They infiltrated the factory, silently taking out a few guards as they went along, before making their way down below. They found their way to the abandon subway cars and caught sight of Thalia exiting a subway car.

Batman looked at his compatriots.

They nodded.

He nodded back. Batman rushed out and threw a small circular device at Thalia which latched on to her throat. Thalia didn’t see Batman until the device was on her neck. The device blocked her ability to scream and Batman threw all of his strength in one punch to knock her out.

Batman looked at Runner and Koutetsu, “GO!” They charged in.

Blitzkrieg opened the door to the train car, in time to see Runner coming right at her with a flying thrust kick. Blitzkrieg was knocked back into the train car, landing hard on her back. On a reflex, Blitzkrieg pressed a button on her wristwatch to activate an energy shield around her body. Blitzkrieg got to her feet but Runner punched her across the face. The force field protected Blitzkrieg, for the most part, but she was in desperate haste for her armor and weapons. Runner knew that, as well, but continued his attack, so she couldn’t recover. She managed to force him back and hurried out of the side door of the car.

“Dammit,” Runner grunted as he hurried after. He charged out of the door but ran straight into Tumulus.

“Rene,” Runner whispered.

“What the hell are you doing here?!” Tumulus swung his fist at him, causing Runner to duck.

“We’re kicking your ass!” Batman shouted as he appeared and kicked Tumulus across the face.

Koutetsu appeared, suddenly, and came down with his bokuto. Tumulus saw Koutetsu in time and got out of the way. Tumulus stared at the heroes and tried to figure out how they found them, but they weren’t leaving him a lot of time to think, as they all converged on him at once. The battle was in the heroes favor until the rest of Graves appeared, with more of Blitzkrieg’s men.

The heroes were outnumbered, but they knew that would be the case. They had no choice. This battle had to be fought and they couldn’t miss this chance. They had to fight with everything they had. They dodged and weaved through bullets, energy blasts, Flicker’s attacks, Troy’s magic, and Tumulus’s punches, desperate to gain the victory in this. The battle intensified and soon spilled out to the above factory.

Batman focused his efforts on Malum and Blitzkrieg to keep them at bay. Runner and Koutetsu took on Tumulus, Flicker, and Troy. Despite being horribly outnumbered, the heroes managed to hold their own. Soon, however, the battle tipped in the scales of the villains.

When it did, Runner looked over at Batman and shouted, “DO IT!”

Batman nodded and forced himself away from Malum. He hit a button on his wrist that sent a large amount of sonic waves echoing throughout the area, incapacitating the villains. Bruce had installed some sound equipment via remote controlled vehicles, taking a page out of the playbook of Terry’s old adversary, Shriek. Batman, Runner, and Koutetsu all had special attachments to their masks and in-ear communicators, respectively, to block out the higher pitches and allow them to keep fighting. Taking advantage of the chaos, Batman threw two electrified batarangs that shorted out Malum’s and Blitzkrieg’s power armors and Koutetsu managed to knockout and restrain Flicker. All three heroes converged on Tumulus and Troy but Troy cast a spell that threw them back. Troy quickly performed a spell to cancel out of the deafening sound.

Batman groaned as he got to his feet, “Damn! Well. That _almost_ worked.”

“A grand effort,” Koutetsu said. “And we have a better advantage now.”

“Think so?” Tumulus got up and pressed a button on his wrist, causing a series of explosions. Batman and Koutetsu jumped out of the way and hurried to make sure there were no casualties from the explosions. Meanwhile, Runner charged at Tumulus and tackled him, just as the floor gave way.

After saving all of the soldiers they could from the explosions and falling debris, Batman and Koutetsu saw Runner was gone.

“Where…” Koutetsu started to ask.

“I think he went after Tumulus!” Batman ran to where he saw Runner charge after Tumulus. They started digging through the rocks and went back down to the Graves’ hideout. Batman and Koutetsu frantically searched but saw no sign of Runner, Tumulus, or any of the other Graves.

“No,” Koutetsu whispered.

Batman gritted his teeth and got on his communicator, “Can you see him?”

“ _No,_ ” Bruce said, ruefully. “ _The signal is being jammed. I can’t find him._ ”

“Dammit, dammit, dammit!” Batman shouted.

* * *

Runner fell to the ground after being teleported and looked up at Tumulus and Troy. He took note that Flicker, Blitzkrieg, and Malum were among them, as well, though they were still unconscious.

“Damn,” Runner whispered.

“Funny,” Tumulus said. “I expected to have to go look for you, despite my threat. And you came to me anyway.”

Runner just stared at Tumulus as the rest of the Graves started to recover. “What are you going to do?” Runner asked.

“I’m going to do to you what should’ve been done years ago,” Tumulus answered. “I’m going to make you see what kind of villain you truly are.”

Runner just gritted his teeth.

“But _you’re_ going to make sure your friends don’t interfere.”

Runner squinted his eyes, “How?”

Tumulus smiled. “I knew you wouldn’t give up that easily, so I took precautions. I have bombs scattered all over the city. Apartment buildings, offices, and even a few police substations. I give the command, the bombs go off and countless die.” He motioned toward Runner, “All on your head.”

Runner stared at Tumulus in horror. “How could you do this?”

“It was easy for you to cost an innocent. Wasn’t that hard for me. And, if you want your friends to live and don’t want the deaths of thousands on your head, you’ll do what I say.”

* * *

Batman and Koutetsu were still searching the station but found no sign of Runner or the Graves. They both deduced Troy must’ve teleported them all away somewhere, but it didn’t hurt to keep looking. They could maybe find a clue as to where they went.

A ball of light appeared behind them and Batman and Koutetsu turned around, cautiously. The light morphed into a distorted image of Tumulus and Troy.

“Well played, Batman,” Tumulus congratulated. “Though, I would like to know how you found us.”

“Doesn’t matter, jackass!” Batman shouted. “Where are you?! Where’s Runner?!”

Tumulus stared at them both. “Blaze. _She_ told you.” He laughed. “Alright. She can die next.”

“You bastard! Where are you?!”

“None of your concern. Your role in this is over.” Tumulus moved to show that Nightrunner, restrained and sitting on his knees.

“Runner!” Batman shouted.

“No!” Koutetsu said, horrified.

“Let him go and I might not break your spine! Keep in mind, I said ‘might.’”

“You stay away,” Tumulus ordered. “Or I set off the bombs I have scattered all around Gotham.”

Batman just gritted his teeth.

“Don’t even attempt to find him or Gotham becomes a graveyard.”

“Damn you, you bastard,” Batman seethed out.

Batman’s muscles tightened but he kept himself under control. After all, there was nothing he could really do. He and Koutetsu looked at each other concerned as their minds raced to figure a way out of this. They looked at Nightrunner, who wouldn’t face them.

Runner kept his gaze fixed on the ground. He closed his eyes and came to terms with this situation. “Batman,” Runner said.

Batman stared at Runner.

Runner looked up at Batman, “Do me two favors. Just two.”

“Stop talking like that!” Batman ordered.

“Just two. One, take care of her.”

Batman hated the sound of that. He swallowed the lump in his throat. “And the other?”

“Let this happen,” Runner requested.

Batman’s eyes went wide, “Oh, no, you…”

“You heard him, Batman,” Tumulus said in snarky tone.

Batman gritted his teeth, “You motherf…”

“Batman!” Koutetsu interrupted.

“I’m pissed! Sue me!”

“Keep in mind, Batman,” Tumulus said, “your own teammate told you this needs to happen. It’s necessary. Now, even he knows he’s guilty.”

“Kiss my ass, you steroided-out gorilla!” Batman shouted.

“Batman,” Runner said. “I’m begging you.”

Batman looked at Runner.

“Please.”

Batman was shaking with rage then glared at Tumulus. “One day, I’m going to come for you. And I want you to hear this, loud and clear: I’m going to kick your ass and I will, I swear… be the one to break you.”

Tumulus laughed. “Good-bye, Batman.” The light faded away and the image of the villains disappeared.

Koutetsu just bowed his head, while Batman’s frustration erupted in a guttural, almost primal war cry.


	27. Chapter 27

** Chapter 27 **

Batman and Koutetsu arrived in the cave and Batman walked over toward the observation table and threw his mask on top of it, screaming as he did so.

“You’ve done that a lot in the past few minutes,” Bruce noted.

“Well, what the hell do you expect?!” Terry shouted. “My best friend just got kidnapped by a murderous asshole and he’s keeping him God knows where! And, even if we do find him, he’s got bombs all over the city ready to detonate! What about this doesn’t warrant a very loud, very angry scream?!”

Bruce shrugged, conceding.

“Do you think he’s already killed him?” Hayate asked.

Terry shook his head. “I dunno.”

“I doubt it,” Bruce said. “If all he wanted was to kill Basem, he’s had a number of opportunities. This is about making him pay.”

“For something he didn’t even do!”

“We’ve covered that. My point is… he wants to make Basem suffer. He’ll do all he can to achieve that.”

“We need to find him before he decides to finish the job,” Terry said.

“But how?” Hayate asked. “If we cannot locate his signal…”

“And there’s the matter of bombs all over Gotham,” Bruce reminded.

“I know, I know!” Terry roared. “Now, do you get the yelling?!”

“I didn’t say you were wrong.”

Terry took a deep breath. “Do Sally and Max know?”

“Yes. Max asked me. I couldn’t keep it from her.”

“I know. I’m gonna go talk to her.”

“I’ll come with you,” Hayate volunteered.

Terry and Hayate changed and headed upstairs; they found Max and Sally sitting on the couch with Sally already crying and Max holding her. Max looked up as Terry and Hayate approached. They had serious concern looks on their faces.

Sally took a sharp breath and looked at them.

“Sally…” Terry started to say.

Sally shook her head, “What are you doing here?!”

The question surprised everyone.

“Why aren’t you both still looking for him?!” Sally screamed. “That bastard took the love of my life and both of you are here!”

“Sally…” Max tried putting her arms around her.

Moving out of Max’s grip, Sally jumped to her feet, “Get back out there and _find him!_ ”

“We’re doing what we can, Sally,” Hayate said, nervously. “It just seems that, at the moment, Tumulus had it so that they are quite difficult to locate.”

“Don’t gimme that bullshit! You guys could track an invisible man by the way he breathes! Don’t tell me you can’t find Basem!”

Terry stared at Sally, “We’re gonna find him, Sal.”

“Then go do it!”

“We will.”

“ _When?!_ ” Sally screamed. “Huh?! When Tumulus sends him back in a body bag?!”

“That’s not gonna happen,” Terry insisted.

Sally glared at Terry, “I bet if Max was out there… you wouldn’t have come back here.”

Hayate’s eyes went wide.

“Sal!” Max shouted.

Terry, however, was unnerved by her reaction. He expected it. After all, she wasn’t wrong. “We’re going to find him, Sal. I promise.”

Sally wanted to argue more but she just left, heading to her bedroom.

Terry rubbed the back of his head while Hayate looked away, uncomfortably.

“She… she didn’t mean any of that,” Max said, nervously. “Terry, you know her. She didn’t mean that at all. She’s just mad. That’s all.”

“But she’s right,” Terry admitted. “If you were out there, nothing would bring me back until I knew you were safe.”

“We’ve done all we can at the moment,” Hayate said.

“She doesn’t see it that way. I can’t say I blame her.” Terry shrugged, “Honestly, I thought she’d try to cut deeper than that.”

“She could have,” Max said. “But Hayate’s right. You did all you could.”

“Not yet.” Terry looked at Hayate, “Get some sleep.” He looked at Max, “You, too, babe. Me and Bruce got work to do.”

“Do not require my help?” Hayate asked.

“Not yet. You sleep. When we need something, I’ll let come get you.”

“ _Hai_ ,” Hayate nodded.

Terry turned around and to head back down to the cave.

“Terry,” Max said.

Terry looked at her.

“I love you. You’ll figure this out. I believe that.”

Terry nodded and walked down to the cave. He resolved that he wasn’t coming back up until he had a way to find Basem.

* * *

Sally went to her room and closed the door behind her. She thought about what she just said. She slammed her hand over her mouth. She couldn’t believe she just accused Terry of not saving Basem because it wasn’t Max who was kidnapped.

Sally sank down to the floor in despair. ‘ _How much of a…_ ’ she thought.

She remembered, back before she knew anything about Basem being Nightrunner, how Basem did all he could to save them from Ket when he turned into a monster. That was something he and Terry always had in common: they would do anything for the people they cared about, no matter what the situation was.

She knew better. Terry and Hayate didn’t come back because they weren’t doing more. They came back because they couldn’t do more. And, she knew in her heart, it was killing them, too, that they couldn’t find Basem.

Sally wanted so desperately to go apologize, but she hated herself far more than anyone else did right now. In fact, she was positive Terry, Max, and Hayate didn’t hate her. They even understood her.

And she felt even worse.

* * *

Runner was sitting in an empty room with his hands tied behind his back. The only thing in the room with him was a circular device sitting in the middle of the room. A door opened, Runner took note that the door slid open as he heard metal scraping, and Tumulus walked in.

Tumulus walked over to the device and hit a button on it. Suddenly, the room filled with projections of pictures and videos of Marie. Runner stared at the pictures and tears started to fall. Tumulus walked over to Runner and pulled Runner’s mask off.

Tumulus looked at the photos. “I had them saved on a personal drive. I retrieved them after I got out of prison. All for this moment.”

“I have these too,” Basem whispered. “I look at them all the time.”

“Oh? When? In between sleeping with your bitch?”

Enraged, Basem jumped up but Tumulus knocked him down.

“What was that?” Tumulus asked. “Anger? For your bitch?”

“Don’t call her that!” Basem shouted. “She’s got nothing to do with this!”

“What?! Are you going to proclaim her innocence!?” Tumulus pointed at the pictures, “ _This_ is innocence! _This_ is a hero! Marie was real! You’re nothing but a fake! A false idol! You need to own up to who and what you really are!” He took his own mask off. “I know I have!”

Basem was stunned by Rene’s appearance. He looked older, decades older, and his face was rigid with lines and aridness. His eyes were dull and sunken. All of the life seemed to be out of him; not like a zombie but more of a malnourished coma patient.

“ _Mon Dieu_ , Rene,” Basem breathed out. “What happened to you?”

“I made a choice to fight a monster like you,” Tumulus explained, “by becoming a monster myself.” He looked at the pictures then slowly advanced toward Basem, cracking his knuckles as he did so, “And I am going to make you suffer for the monster you are.”

* * *

The night went on, the next day past, and dusk had just settled on Gotham.

Terry and Bruce had been working straight through the past day, looking for any signs of the Graves or any signal from Basem. So far, it was frustratingly silent. They were staring at the computer screen as it continually scanned for the signal from Nightrunner’s suit. But it was useless. There no sign of Basem of anywhere. It was starting to become more than either man could bear. They were doing a good job of not saying it, but their body language gave it away: they were terrified about what was happening to Basem. Tumulus may not have killed him yet, but Terry and Bruce knew, very well, there were things much worse than death.

After another failure of a scan, Terry started pacing and rubbing his face.

“You’ve been up for over 30 hours, Terry,” Bruce reminded. “You need to rest.”

“I _need_ to find Basem,” Terry replied. “You trained me to go without sleep. That’s what I’m going to do.”

“Maybe I taught you too well.”

“I tell you that all the time but…” Terry stopped and looked at the screen. The program over the city was still scanning, searching for Basem’s signal, and Terry noticed something imprecise. He narrowed his eyes. “Bruce. Leave the scan on but pull up a full view of the city.”

Bruce hit a view keys and an image of Gotham came up.

“Now, run the scan one more time but over the whole city.”

Bruce did and they stared at the screen.

“Are we seeing dead spots?” Terry asked.

Bruce looked at them, “Yes, we are.”

“There’s no way Basem’s in all those places.”

“ _That’s_ where the bombs are.”

“But where are _they_?” Terry asked.

“Wait a second.” Bruce hit a few more keys. “I’ve been trying to narrow down what kind of signals can be set off but we can’t scan for.”

“A specific frequency!” Terry snapped his fingers.

“Exactly.” Bruce started typing, “One that can’t be detected by conventional means and one that can be sent even when other signals are blocked. It would have to be microwave, short wave bursts.”

“With relays all over the city.”

Bruce looked at Terry, stunned.

“Tumulus is working with Malum. That’s an unlimited amount of creds. What’s a few signal relays? Even if it’s a few dozen? Even a hundred?”

“For Malum, chump change.” Bruce hit a few more keys and sure enough a pattern of microwave relays showed up.

“Can we narrow down where any sent signals could be coming from?” Terry asked.

“We can certainly try,” Bruce answered. “More to the point, now, we can scramble them, keep them from reaching their destinations.”

“And disarm the bombs.”

“And go after the Graves.”

“Best news I’ve heard in over 30 hours.”

“Go investigate one of the bombs,” Bruce ordered. “I’m already sending a blocking signal through the relays. When you find the bomb, I’ll talk you through disarming it. We take care of one, we’ll know how to take out the rest.”

“On my way,” Terry headed for the door.

* * *

Terry did, indeed, find a bomb. It was in the sewer underneath a police substation on the southwest side of Gotham.

‘ _That’s how they did it!_ ’ Terry thought. He knew even the sewers in police stations had sensors but they must’ve blinded them. He got on his comms and called the Cave.

“ _You found it?_ ” Bruce answered.

“Yeah,” Terry answered. “They’ve been travelling and using the sewers. That’s how they delivered their bombs. Between Malum’s money and Troy’s magic…”

“ _They could get in and out of almost anywhere in Gotham._ ” Bruce exhaled. “ _We should’ve put that together easier._ ”

“They played us good.”

“ _Show me the bomb._ ”

Terry showed the bomb’s workings to Bruce via a camera he had on him. On Bruce’s instructions, Terry opened the bomb up and Bruce talked him through disarming it, which was easy enough. Terry was done in about two minutes. Despite that, it was still a tense situation for Terry. It was a bomb, after all.

“Well, _that_ was nerve-wracking,” Terry said, wiping sweat from his forehead. “You know, it just occurred to me that we probably should’ve cleared the building first.”

“ _It wasn’t necessary,_ ” Bruce said.

“Why?”

“ _When you gave me the look at the bomb, I could tell it would only go off when it received a very specific code. Malum was known for using bombs like that. It kept them from going off prematurely._ ”

“So, the exact opposite of what Mad Stan does?”

“ _Exactly,_ ” Bruce replied. “ _Terry. Without the original signal, it’s hard to locate the Graves. I can trace the last places they set them off before but…_ ”

“Where they are now is a mystery,” Terry exhaled, ruefully.

“ _Exactly._ ”

Terry thought for a second then smirked. “Send Hayate to go to talk to Blaze.”

Bruce scoffed, almost chuckling. “ _Clever move._ ”

“I thought so. I mean, hey! She didn’t call me ‘cute’.”

* * *

A little while later, Blaze was sitting in a hotel room with police detectives in the room next to hers. In exchange for her help, she was being given protection and leniency in her case for her part in Tumulus’s crimes. However, that would be resolved after the Graves were caught in order to protect her. Blaze was eating pizza and watching a movie when she heard a knock on the door.

She looked in confusion. “Uh, yeah?”

“Ms. Blaze?” Koutetsu asked. “It’s Koutetsu. May I come in?”

Blaze got up and looked through the peephole, confirming Koutetsu was standing there. She opened the door, allowing him to come in.

She closed the door and stared at him, “If this is a booty call, you should know… I’m totally down for that.”

Koutetsu blushed immediately, “Uh, no, ma’am. This is, uh… no, I’m not here for that.”

Blaze jerked her head back, “Oh! Oh, you don’t like women. My bad. I thought I noticed you checking me out.”

“No, no, I like women. I just… that’s not why I came. What I mean to say is…” Koutetsu paused. He could hear her Terry chuckling in his ear piece. He sighed. “May we… begin this conversation again?”

Blaze smiled. “Sure. What can I do for you, cutie?”

“Can you think of any other place the Graves might be hiding?”

She narrowed her eyes, “What happened at the hideout?”

He started to pace, “It would seem that Tumulus was ready for us.”

“That asshole,” Blaze whispered.

“And he took Nightrunner.”

Blaze’s eyes widened. “Oh, hell. Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t know…”

“No need for apologies. You’ve done more than required of you. The failure was ours.”

“He’s gonna kill your guy,” Blaze said. “That’s all he wanted. He was really obsessed with that.”

“That’s why it’s paramount we find them,” Koutetsu said. “Can you think of anything that might help us find them? Anything at all?”

Blaze put her hands on her hips and started thinking. She nodded, “You know what? Malum would have Blitzkrieg’s men going all over the city for something.”

“We found out why,” Koutetsu replied. “It was to set up relays for their bombs.”

“They what?!” Blaze threw her hands in the air, “Great! One apartment complex wasn’t enough! We were bombing the _city_ , too?!” She walked in a circle and growled, “I should’ve stayed in California and got a job as a furnace.”

“We all make our own mistakes, Blaze.”

“Tell me about it.” She sighed. “I don’t know where else they might be hiding, sorry. Tumulus didn’t really tell us much. Well, _me_ much, anyway. Don’t know who he really trusted. Except for Thalia, they seemed tight. I don’t know how loyal Blitzkrieg is. Malum and Troy are in it to take out any heroes, Flicker’s just a psychopath, but Blitz is like me. It’s about the money. She’s just more… ‘eh’ when it comes to blood and death.” She chuckled, “Her guys are like that, too, but…” She stopped. “Her guys.”

“Yes?” Koutetsu asked.

“She, uh…” Blaze started snapping her fingers. “She couldn’t fly them in! Like-like on normal planes! Ya know, mass murders and convicted soldiers can’t really get passports or pass through customs. They were would be on cargo planes and fly in on a…”

“Private airfield.” Koutetsu bowed to her. “Thank you, Blaze.” He headed for the door.

“Hey, Koutetsu?”

He stopped and looked at her.

Blaze shrugged, “Be careful when you take those guys on, okay? I figure when I get out of jail in, I’d say, 50 to 75 years, we could go see a movie or something.”

Koutetsu stared at her for a second then shrugged, “That sounds like a lovely evening.”

Blaze looked at him, shocked. She smiled, coyly, and looked away as she started to blush. “Didn’t expect you to answer that.”

“I don’t know why. While I may not have responded to your earlier advances, I never said I didn’t appreciate them or find you rather attractive.”

She chuckled. “Damn, you’re actually charming.”

“I do my best. Stay safe, Blaze.” He left the room.

After he was gone, Blaze exhaled. “That’s a man right there!”

* * *

Basem was lying on the ground, barely breathing as he stared at the pictures and videos of Marie. His body was severely damaged from the hours of punishment Tumulus had bestowed on him. Basem’s strength was almost gone, he was dehydrated, and he was actually praying for death at this point.

The door opened again and Tumulus walked back in, carrying a bottle of water. He walked over to Basem, grabbed him by the head to lift him up, and forced the contents of the bottle down Basem’s throat. Basem managed to swallow most of the water but coughed up the rest of it.

Tumulus threw Basem back down to the ground and gazed at the images of his sister. “So innocent. Such a hero.”

“Enough,” Basem breathed out. “Rene. She’s gone.”

“I know. And you’re next.”

“Fine. Do it. It won’t change what happened. She’s still dead.” Basem wanted to cry. “And nothing we do will bring her back.”

“No.” Tumulus kicked Basem over and put his foot on Basem’s chest, “But, tonight, when I execute you, I will finally give her soul the justice it rightly deserves.”


	28. Chapter 28

** Chapter 28 **

Night was just beginning to set in on Gotham when Max went to Sally’s door and knocked on it. “Sal?”

There was no answer.

Max opened the door and didn’t see her. Instantly, Max started to worry. She walked around the house until she found Sally sitting in the living room with her head bowed.

“Hey,” Max said.

Sally turned to look at Max then looked away in shame.

“Hey. Come on, sis. Talk to me.”

“Why would you want to talk to me?” Sally asked. “After the God-awful things I said to Terry…”

“You’re scared, Sal,” Max sat down next to Sally and put her arm around her. “He gets that. We all do. Hell, we’re all scared. It just makes sense you’re more scared than we are.”

Sally stared at Max. “What the hell is wrong with you?!”

“What?!”

“Why are you being so nice?! Damn, woman! Can you, just once, hate me for my bull and not be comforting?! I need someone to yell at me right now and everyone’s being understanding! What is this?!”

Max giggled. “I said something like that to Terry after the whole ‘worried he’d be like Dad’ thing.”

“Guess all his damn sweetness rubbed off on you,” Sally said.

Max smiled. “A lot on him rubs off on me. In one way or another.”

Sally stared at Max and, despite her best intentions, she smiled. Then she laughed. She laughed hard. Max joined her. The laughed for a few minutes before leaning back on the couch. It felt good to smile and laugh about something, anything at this point. It didn’t make anything better but it was a relief. Max pulled Sally in for a hug as they calmed down.

Sally took a deep breath then whispered, “I’m really scared, Max.”

“I know,” Max said. She pulled Sally closer. “So am I.”

* * *

After Hayate came back to the Cave, they looked checked all the relay signals, focusing on airfields in and outside of Gotham. They discovered there was one airfield that had the same kind of dead spots as the bombs. It was about 80 miles outside of Gotham in a secluded area out in the country. The airfield had been closed for years but was recently purchased and listed as private property.

The evidence was clear as was the conclusion it led to.

Terry stared at the screen and nodded, “That’s where they are.”

“Yes,” Bruce agreed.

All three men began to mentally prepare themselves for the fight that was coming. It was going to be the fight of their lives and fight for their lives and Basem’s.

Terry took a deep breath. “That ‘ace in the hole’ ready?”

Bruce nodded. “Already equipped to your suit.”

“Okay.”

“We should prepare to move,” Hayate said. “We may not have much time to waste.”

Terry nodded, “Yeah.” He looked toward the stairs leading up to the house. “In a minute.”

“Sally?” Bruce asked.

“Yeah.” Terry headed toward the stairs. “I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll come with you,” Hayate said, walking behind Terry. “It may help her to see our combined resolve.”

“It just might,” Terry agreed.

After they left, Bruce had a communication come through to the computer. He answered, “Hello.”

“ _Good evening, Bruce,_ ” the voice said.

Bruce’s eyes went wide as he recognized the voice, immediately.

“ _We hear you guys in Gotham have a problem. I have some people on the way to the cave right now, should be there in about five minutes or so. They’d like to offer their assistance._ ”

Bruce smiled. “We’ll gladly take it.”

* * *

Terry and Hayate walked back into the house, their minds riddled with thoughts about this battle against the Graves. When Tumulus first captured him, Basem begged Terry and Hayate not to come after him. And it wasn’t just for the sake of Gotham.

Basem didn’t want to see his friends killed by Tumulus. And as psychotic as Tumulus is, he would kill them without a second thought. He did with Stephen, Le Grande, and so many other innocents. Terry and Hayate understood what was at stake and why Basem wouldn’t want them to come after him. Basem was trying to protect them, Sally, Gotham, and everyone else he could. That was fine. However, Terry and Hayate refused to let Basem sacrifice himself, while they just sat by and did nothing about it.

They walked into the kitchen and found Max getting a glass of water.

Max looked at them, “Hey!”

“Hey, babe,” Terry said.

“Maxine,” Hayate greeted, giving her a bow. He looked them both, “I’ll leave you two to talk.”

“We won’t be long.”

Hayate nodded. “If you’ll excuse me…” He walked out of the kitchen.

“Any news?” Max asked.

“We found them,” Terry replied.

A tense silence filled the kitchen. One they had dealt with on many occasions before, but this one hit them way worse than any other. Not only was this a case of a madman taking of their family hostage, but they had a baby on the way.

Max took a deep breath. “You’re going after them.”

Terry nodded.

“You’re worried,” she concluded.

“Beyond,” he answered. “And, so are you.”

“Ya blame me?”

“Nope.”

Setting the glass down, she walked up to him and leaned on him, resting her forehead on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close.

“You should be sitting,” Terry said.

“Not yet,” Max replied. “Talk to me. What’s on your mind?”

He took a deep breath and exhaled. “We have to go after them. But, we’ll be horribly outnumbered. Plus it’s been a whole day. I’m really worried if Basem’s still alive or not.”

“He is,” she insisted. “I know it.”

“I’m trying to hold on to that hope, too. It just gets hard in some moments.”

“I know.”

He was silent for second before taking a deep breath. “Max. You know what I need to do.”

“Yeah. You need to save him.”

“No matter what.”

Max looked up at him, “Be careful. Bring him home and bring your ass back, too.”

Terry nodded then kissed her. “I love you, Max. More than you’ll ever know.”

“Right back at you.”

He took her by the hand and they walked out of the kitchen. They saw Hayate standing in the hallway, waiting for them. They all went into the living room, where Sally was sitting with her head bowed.

“Sal,” Terry spoke up.

Sally lifted up her head and turned to see Terry as he guided Max back to the couch. Max sat down next to Sally, setting the glass of water down in front of her, and Hayate stood by the couch.

“We know where the Graves took Basem,” Terry informed.

Sally gasped. “You… you do?”

“Yeah.” Terry motioned toward Hayate, “We’re about to leave to go get him.”

Sally looked at them both, “What? Just the two of you?”

“It’s what we have to do.”

“Terry, no! If you do that, Rene’s gonna kill you guys!”

“Let him try,” Terry said. “There’s no way in hell we’re not going.”

“But you don’t have to do this!” Sally closed her eyes as tears started to form. She looked at Terry, “I’m sorry for earlier. I didn’t mean what I said about you saving Max! I mean, yeah, you’d save her but I know you were doing everything you could for Basem, too. You’d never abandon him! You’d never abandon any of us! I was just mad. I was freakin’ crazy! I am so sorry, Terry.”

Terry smiled warmly at her, “I know you that, Sal. And it’s okay. But we still have to go.”

“Terry, please!” Sally begged. “I’m sorry. Don’t go! If Basem’s gone… I’ll… I-I’ll handle that… someday. Maybe. But… if you… I mean, Max… she needs you.”

“Would ever be okay without B?” Max asked.

“Like, actually?” Sally shook her head, “Hell, no.”

“And that’s just one more reason why we have to go,” Terry explained. “Don’t worry about me or Hayate. We can handle this. And B’s not gone. He’s alive. That’s one thing I do know about that bastard Tumulus. He kept Basem alive. Besides, B’s one of the best friends I’ve ever had. He’s my brother.” He looked at Hayate then back at Sally, “We won’t let him die.”

“We cannot,” Hayate declared. “I do not abandon my friends. It goes against my code and everything I believe in.”

Sally looked at them both, “But… but…”

“I know, Sal.” Terry squatted down in front of Sally. “But you can trust us. We can handle this. Hayate’s got my back and I got his. And, not to brag, but I did go toe-to-toe with Superman once.”

“He waxed your ass,” Max smiled.

“I call it a draw!” Terry smiled. “Anyway, I’ve been to the edge before. This won’t be different. We’re going to save Basem. We’ll bring him home.”

Sally stared into his eyes and saw he meant every word. “Wow.” She looked at Max, “Is this what got you to marry him?”

Max smiled at Terry, lovingly. “It was one thing, yeah.”

“I don’t blame you.” Sally looked back at Terry. She threw her arms around him. “Please, Terry. I love him. Just… just bring him home.”

“You got it,” Terry promised.

“And bring yourself home, too.”

Terry nodded.

Sally released the hug. She got up and hugged Hayate, “And you come home, too.”

Hayate smiled and hugged her back, “I will do my best.”

Terry smiled and gave Max a kiss.

“I’ll be back,” Terry assured.

“I’ll be waiting,” Max replied.

Terry stood up and looked over to Hayate.

“We’ll be outnumbered,” Hayate pointed out.

“And?” Terry asked.

Hayate chuckled, lightly. “More and more, I see why you and Basem get along so well. As long as you’re fine with it, I am as well.” He sighed. “It’s an honor for a samurai to fall in battle.”

“Probably always the way people thought Batman would bite it, too,” Terry said. “But, screw that noise! I got a daughter on the way. Outnumbered or not, we’re coming back.”

Hayate nodded. “Your resolve is impressive. Yes, we shall!”

“You won’t be alone,” Bruce said as he walked in the room.

Everyone looked at him, confused.

“What do you mean?” Terry asked.

Bruce moved out of the way and the Justice League members from Paris walked in: Alex, the gun-wielding Outlaw; Ari, the possessor of the Vixen totem; and Lance, the elastic hero Plastic Man. They were wearing they’re civilian clothes but Hayate’s smile and Terry’s relieved and ecstatic expression, immediately, told Sally and Max that backup had arrived.

“Alex!” Hayate said, happily. “Ari! Lance! You’re all here!”

“You boys didn’t think you could have this party without us, now, did you?” Alex asked.

Sally’s eyes widened, “Terry, are-are they really…”

“Yeah,” Terry smiled. “Say to hello to the Justice League Unlimited.”

“Some of us, anyway,” Lance said. “We just so happen to live in France.”

“Malum and Blitzkrieg’s goons kept us busy in Paris,” Ari explained. “If it hadn’t been for them, we would’ve been here already.”

“What freed you guys up?” Terry asked.

“We’ll give you a hint,” Lance said. “He wears a big ‘S’ on his chest and can punch a hole in the moon by sneezing. While standing on Earth. When the sun is shining.”

Terry smiled, “Damn, I love Superman.”

“Superman called after you two walked out of the cave,” Bruce explained. “He’d been in space for a while and returned to Earth yesterday. He’s keeping an eye on Paris while the League helps us deal with the Graves.”

“Also, we brought a friend,” Ari said. She looked behind her but didn’t see anyone else. “Where did…?” She looked around, “Hey, Zee!”

Just then, a burst of light flashed amongst them and a woman with long dark blue hair wearing a tuxedo shirt and jacket, a bowtie, a goth-styled skirt, a top hat, and carrying a magic wand appeared.

“Zaria?!” Hayate said, surprised.

“In the flesh!” Zaria said with a smile and tipping her top hat.

“Why’d you do that?” Ari asked. “You came on the _Javelin_ with us!”

“I’m a showman. I have to make an entrance.”

Ari rolled her eyes and groaned.

“Where have you been?” Hayate asked.

“Visiting Mom, at first, then we had to help Dr. Fate with a demon invasion in Peru,” Zaria explained. “Long story. But, when I heard Troy was back at it, I had to get here!” She paused and looked at Bruce. “Hey, Uncle Bruce.”

“Hello, Zaria,” Bruce said. “How’s your mother?”

“She’s great. Wants you to come visit.”

“Tell Zatanna I will and soon.”

Zaria smiled, looked at Terry, ran over, and hugged him, “Hey, cuz!”

“What’s up, cuz?!” Terry hugged her back.

“You two know each other?” Hayate asked.

“We met on a case a while back,” Terry said as they released the hug. “Bonded over our mutual misunderstanding of Bruce.”

“Plus, I tried to hook up with him,” Zaria teased.

“Zee!” Terry chided. “You did not!”

“Kidding!” Zaria laughed. “Wouldn’t have happened anyway. It’s impossible to compete with Max, even if they didn’t know it at the time.” She walked over to Max, who stood up as they hugged, “ _Really_ impossible to compete, now.”

“Damn right,” Max smiled. She released the hug. “Glad you’re here, Zee. Miss you, girl.”

“I know,” Zaria said. “Sorry I haven’t come around more. I’ll fix that. Magician’s honor.”

“I’ll take it!”

Terry smiled, “Well! Looks like we got a crew.”

“One hell of a crew,” Max smiled.

Terry looked at Sally, “How do you feel about our chances now?”

Sally was grinning from ear to ear, “Slightly better than I did before.” She stood up. “I… I can’t thank all of you enough. I know you’re doing this because you’re heroes and this is just what heroes do but… saving Basem means… so much to me. It… _he_ means everything to me.”

Ari shrugged, “Yeah, we’re heroes but… we’re friends, too. Basem’s our friend. He’d turn the world upside down for us. We’ll happily do the same for him.”

Sally felt tears start to come back up. “Thank you all.”

“So, this is the infamous Sally, the girl who tamed the Runner’s heart,” Alex said.

Sally laughed, “Yeah. I guess that’s me. Huh. I sound like a J.K. Rowling book. Or a Stieg Larsson book. I’m okay with both, actually.”

“I would be,” Max said.

“She’s the girl Basem fell for?” Lance stretched over to her and looked her up and down. “I can see why. Meow!”

Seething, Ari punched Lance in the gut, causing him to recoil to his normal posture.

“OW!” Lance shouted. “I was joking!”

“Keep your overly-sexual, inappropriate self away from Basem’s girlfriend!” Ari yelled.

“Again… JOKE!”

“Yeah, right.”

Terry laughed and looked at Hayate, “Man, I love these guys!”

“As do I,” Hayate smiled.

Terry scanned his group of allies, “You guys ready?”

“To save our boy?” Alex smiled. “Always.”

“Then, let’s get moving!”

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Tumulus drug Basem out of the room to the outside, revealing to Basem they were on an airfield. Basem also took note that they were somewhere far from Gotham. He couldn’t hear any city noise or even see the city lights in the distance.

Tumulus drug him to the middle of a runway where three floodlights came on. Tumulus sat Basem on his knees, threw Basem’s mask on the ground next to him, then Tumulus stepped back to glare at him. Basem looked up to see Thalia, Malum, Blitzkrieg, Flicker, Troy, and host of soldiers were gathered around with Tumulus. He knew his mask was off but his identity hardly mattered at this point.

“ _This_ is Nightrunner?” Malum asked. “He’s nothing but a boy.”

“Boys can sometimes get more done than men,” Blitzkrieg said. “Can we get this over with? I’ve already spent way too much time and money on this endeavor.”

“You’ll be compensated.”

“It’s the soldiers that are currently in lock-up, too, that are a problem.”

“We’ll be done soon,” Thalia said. “And all accounts will be settled.” She walked up to Tumulus and whispered, “This is your moment, Rene. Complete your mission. Achieve your destiny.”

“I will,” Tumulus nodded. He knelt down and placed a picture of Marie next to Basem’s mask.

In the picture, Marie was showing off her engagement ring. Basem started shaking a bit as he stared at the photograph.

“I actually regret I had to kill Stephen,” Tumulus dropped his own mask next to Basem. “But you wouldn’t learn otherwise.”

Basem said nothing.

“After I kill you, I’m going to drop your corpse in front of Batman.”

“I don’t care.” Basem slowly lifted his head. “But my final word of advice to you, Rene: run. After you kill me, run and _never_ stop running. Once you kill me, Batman will unleash hell. And he will hunt you. If you stop, he will find you. If fight back, he will break you. He might even kill you. But whatever he does… he’ll make it hurt.”

“I’m not afraid of him,” Tumulus shook his head.

“You should be.”

“Enough of this. Your time is at an end, Basem.”

Basem bowed his head, prepared for the worse. There was nothing else to do. He couldn’t fight. He couldn’t run. And, with his death, he was protecting everyone: Terry, Max, Bruce, his family, his friends, and Gotham. And Sally. The best thing that had ever happened to him. Her protection mattered the most. This was how he could keep her safe and he knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, Terry would protect her from here. It was a comforting thought, actually; it almost made him smile.

“It’s interesting, Basem,” Tumulus declared. “You tried to escape your horrible crime against someone you saw as ‘family’. So, you come to Gotham, partner up with Batman, get a little girlfriend, and live life just fine. But it all meant nothing. And now… now, you’re going to die. Alone.”

Basem closed his eyes.

Tumulus raised his fists, “ _Au revoir, monstre_.”

It was a good night to die.

“You’re wrong about two things,” Batman’s voice echoed through the runway.

The Graves and the soldiers looked around, confused, as they didn’t know where the voice came from. Basem’s eyes flew open as he started to look around, as well.

Batman turned off his cloaking device as he walked out of the shadows and stared down the Graves. “He’s not gonna die, and he, sure as hell, isn’t alone.”

Basem actually smiled a bit as a wave of relief came over him.

“Not now, not ever.” Batman drew two batarangs then declared, “Now, I’m gonna say this once: get the hell away from him!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Zaria is a new OC and she is the daughter of the one and only Zatanna. I LOVE Zatanna. She's hot, interesting, clever, and uses magic, what's not to like? Anyway, in this canon, Zaria and Terry have met before. I'm currently working on a story about that for the "Unpack Your Heart Chronicles" so be on the lookout for that.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Parts of this chapter are inspired by "Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths" (a great movie), which is also giving me an idea with characters of my friends, RyokoMist and Watership's Nightwish Rat (both from FanFic), for a future crossover idea but that'll keep until another time.

** Chapter 29 **

Tumulus looked at Batman, stunned, as did the rest of the Graves. Quickly, however, Tumulus’s astonishment was replaced with rage.

“How did you find us?!” Malum shouted.

“You didn’t make it easy, I’ll tell ya that,” Batman admitted. “But if you thought something like dead spots and relays in the city would stop me from finding Nightrunner… well, you’re stupid.”

“You really should’ve stayed out of this, Batman,” Tumulus said.

“Not a chance in hell.” Batman glared at Tumulus, seeing him for the first time without his mask. “Damn. You’re a _lot_ uglier than I thought you’d be.”

“Always quick with a joke, aren’t you?”

“Who was joking?”

Tumulus growled. “I’ve had enough of this. I warned you not to search for us. Clearly, you don’t care about your city. I will decimate it all.”

Batman scoffed. “Good luck with that.”

“You think I’m bluffing?” Tumulus pulled a trigger out of his pocket. “I’ll do it.”

“I think you’re full of crap.”

At that, Basem knew Batman had found some way to get around the bombs. He wouldn’t have endangered all of Gotham, even for him.

Tumulus stared at Batman. “Last chance, Batman.”

Retracting his batarangs, Batman folded his arms.

Tumulus gritted his teeth. “Fine. Their deaths are on _your_ head.” He hit the button. With the number of bombs they set up, the explosions would be able to be heard in Gotham even from the distance. At least, see the flashes in the distance.

But nothing. They stood in silence for thirty seconds in total silence.

Tumulus and all of the Graves looked at each other, confused. Tumulus hit the button a few more times. Still nothing.

Batman snapped his fingers. “Did I totally forget to mention that we blocked your signal? Or that we found and disarmed _all_ of your bombs?” He playfully hit his forehead. “Man, I’m _really_ slipping tonight.”

Basem actually chuckled, quietly, and shook his head.

Tumulus growled, crushed the trigger in his hands, and threw the useless device away. “Fine. I’ll handle that after you’re dead.” He looked around, “Of course, you didn’t come alone, Batman.”

Just then, Koutetsu emerged from the shadows as well, “You are correct in that deduction, Rene. We’re here to end this, once and for all. Surrender now or you will face our wrath.”

Tumulus laughed. “Your wrath?!”

“Did he stutter?” Batman asked.

“Your wrath,” Tumulus said, condescendingly. “Please! You and what army?”

Batman showed a big, toothy grin. “You have no _freakin’_ idea how happy I am you just asked that.”

Suddenly, a burst of light appeared behind Batman and Koutetsu and Zaria, Outlaw, Vixen, and Plastic Man appeared. They formed a line behind Batman and Koutetsu, all of them battle ready.

Tumulus’s eyes widened as he stepped back in shock.

“Oh, hell,” Blitzkrieg whispered.

“No,” Malum hissed out.

Basem looked at them all and his eyes welled up with tears right away. ‘ _They came,_ ’ he thought. ‘ _They’re here._ ’

“They’re not supposed to be here!” Thalia looked at Malum and Blitzkrieg, “You both swore you’d keep them occupied!”

“Hey!” Blitzkrieg shouted. “I said we’d try! I don’t know how they got here! Last I heard, they were handling bank robberies! I don’t know what they’re doing here!”

Thalia growled at this horrible turn of events in their plans.

“You guys are in some serious trouble,” Plastic Man said.

Batman stepped forward. “Take them down. Hard.”

Outlaw aimed his guns, “With extreme pleasure.” He opened fire and the Graves scattered.

Batman and the heroes charged in as the Graves regrouped and attacked. Basem flattened himself on the ground as both sides collided. Troy flew into the air and started to cast spell but Zaria already he had him scouted.

“Sniahc dnuora yort!” Zaria shouted as she levitated into the air. She aimed her wand at Troy, a series of chains emerged from wand’s tip, and wrapped themselves around Troy.

Troy struggled against the chains and looked at her with contempt, “Damn you to hell, Zaria!”

“Just came from there, Troy,” Zaria replied. “Your cousins say ‘hi.’”

“Funny.” Troy used his magic to break the chains. He stared at Zaria, “I’ve been waiting for this.”

“Yeah?” Zaria asked as magical energy began to swirl around her hands and her wand. “Me, too.” She aimed her wand and shouted, “Llaberif!”

Troy threw a ball of magic, which collided against Zaria’s fireball and caused an explosion.

Outlaw, Vixen, Plastic Man, and Hayate went after Thalia, Flicker, Malum, Blitzkrieg, and Malum’s Graves and Blitzkrieg’s mercenaries while Batman faced off against Tumulus.

Tumulus stared down Batman and breathed out, “How dare you.”

“Oh, trust me,” Batman sneered. “I dare.”

With a feral scream, Tumulus charged at Batman, but Batman used Tumulus’s momentum to catapult Tumulus over him. Tumulus got up and charged at Batman again, but Tumulus was suddenly levitated into the air and went sailing backwards.

Batman looked to see Zaria was responsible for Tumulus’s flight. He nodded at her, and she returned the nod. Zaria saw Troy was recovering and flew at him to continue their duel.

Batman took the momentary pause to go check on Basem. He ran over to Basem, helped him sit up, and removed his handcuffs. “Hey, B!”

Basem looked at Batman. “You came anyway.”

“What else was I gonna do?” Batman looked to see the Nightrunner mask on the ground and the picture of Marie. He picked up the picture and put it in his belt and presented Basem with the mask. “Looks like you dropped this.”

Basem stared at it for a second. “Rene was right all along. I don’t deserve it.”

“The hell you don’t. I don’t know what he told you, but he’s full of crap.”

“He’s right, though. Marie died because of me.”

“No,” Batman replied. “Marie died because you couldn’t save her. Not because you killed her. You did everything you could.”

Basem looked at Batman.

“You know that’s the truth. I don’t care what he told you. _That’s_ the truth.” Batman put his hand on Basem’s shoulder. “If you had killed Marie, I wouldn’t be here. Koutetsu wouldn’t be here and Superman wouldn’t have gone to Paris to watch over it so your friends could be here.”

“Superman did that?”

Batman nodded. “And, if Marie was here, she’d call you out for this bullshit.”

Basem chuckled. “Yeah. She really would.”

“You’re not alone anymore, B. You weren’t before and you weren’t going to be the second you set foot in Gotham. We fight together, and, if Tumulus wants to kill you, if _anyone_ wants to kill you, they gotta go through me first.”

“I wouldn’t let you die. You’re about to be a father.”

Batman shrugged, “My kid’s got a great mother. She’d be fine with or without me.”

“Batman…”

“But you’re right. I gotta a kid on the way that I want to see born, I want to see grow. So, with all that in mind, we better live through this. Together. Deal?”

Basem found strength in Batman’s words. And in the simple fact that the League deployed to come save him. He chuckled, softly, and shook his head, “He beat the crap out of me for the past 24 hours. I won’t be much good in a fight.”

“Oh, please!” Batman waved Basem off. “Bruce beats the crap out of us in training all the time! Besides, everyone knows I do all the serious fighting, anyway.”

Basem stared at Batman, raising an eyebrow, “Really?”

“I kicked your ass, didn’t I?”

Basem laughed. “Okay. I really can’t argue that.” He looked at his mask, took it from his partner, and slid it on.

“Good to have you back, Nightrunner,” Batman nodded.

“Good to be back,” Runner replied.

Batman helped Runner to his feet. They looked to see Tumulus slowly approaching them, much angrier than before.

Runner stared at Tumulus and struggled to shake off the mental effects of the torture. He couldn’t be distracted right now. They had a job to do. “Let’s finish this,” Runner declared.

* * *

Sally and Max were sitting in the living room, waiting to hear word from the others. This was one of the few times in their lives, they realized, they couldn’t come up with a subject to talk about as a distraction. They were just too nervous. At least, Sally felt like she was nervous; she couldn’t get that feeling from Max. Sally kept fidgeting and moving around while Max was sitting still, calmly sipping her tea.

Sally kept looking elsewhere, but her gaze continually returned to Max, before, finally, Sally blurted out, “How are you such a rock?!”

Max set her tea down. “I’m terrified,” she admitted. “But… I know my husband. He’s Batman. He’ll be back. And he’s bringing Basem home, too. There’s no way they aren’t coming home.”

In just a few words, Max calmed Sally down. Sally exhaled and shook her head, “Max. You’re way stronger than me.”

“You’re plenty strong,” Max smiled. “You’re just in love.”

Sally scoffed, “Don’t remind me. 16-year-old me would kick my ass now for crying over a guy and for being stupid.”

“I can’t get mad at you for being in love. Basem’s worth crying over, that’s for sure. But I’ll kick your ass for being stupid after I have this kid, if it’ll help.”

“Thanks.” Sally became lost in thought again. “Will it always be this hard?”

Max took a deep breath. “Not always. It’ll be hard, though. Believe me. I felt like this plenty before me and Terry got together. Which, now that I stop and think about it, was an early sign. But, if you love him, it’s always worth it.”

“It’s always worth it for you?” Sally asked.

“Every damn day.”

“Even when you get scared he won’t come home?”

“I’ve gotten more happiness in the four-plus years since we first started dating than I ever thought I would get. Plus, he’s a damn superhero. Of course, I get scared, Sal, but, if it wasn’t for him, Gotham would be a dead city and I wouldn’t be here.” Max thought for a second. “I get scared. I get terrified. Terry knows that. He gets scared, too. But… not when he’s wearing the suit. Not when he’s on a case. He can’t afford to be scared then. When we’re alone, when we shut the world out, we can be as scared as we want to be. But then… we move past it. We realize we’re alive. We’re still here and we still have each other. That’s why… we make every moment count.”

Sally gave a warm smile. “That’s actually really comforting, Max.”

Max grinned. “Besides, why do you think I’m pregnant anyway? We do enjoy life. Frequently.”

Sally laughed. “Really? You _had_ to ruin the moment.”

“You were about to.”

“You’re right, I really was.”

* * *

Batman and Runner crashed into Tumulus and the crazed villain threw them away. The Gotham knights Tumulus battled away from where the rest of League were taking on the Graves, with Batman leading Tumulus to an old, empty hangar. Tumulus threw a large piece of a derelict aircraft at them and they dove inside the hangar for cover.

Batman looked around inside the hangar and nodded, “Okay. This’ll work.”

“Why are we in here?” Runner asked.

“We need to get him alone. And, there’s less of a breeze in here.”

Runner slowly nodded, understanding the situation. “So, you do have…”

“It’s our last shot. Hell, it’s our _only_ shot.” Batman stared at the walls as heard Tumulus approach. “Get somewhere and take cover.”

“Why?”

“Don’t know how much damage was done to your mask. Your air filters might not work. And you don’t want to breathe this in.”

Runner nodded, “Right. Are you sure you can handle him? Even a few minutes alone with him is forever.”

“Positive.”

Runner nodded and headed to the back of the hangar just as Tumulus burst through the wall.

“You should’ve stayed out this, Batman,” Tumulus declared. “You should’ve just let me kill him and be done with it.”

“Yeah, I can guarantee you that was never gonna happen,” Batman replied.

“He’s a murderer.”

Batman stared at Tumulus, angrily. “I’m really getting sick of you calling him that.”

“It’s the truth,” Tumulus insisted.

“You know, I looked into Marie’s death myself. Got a real good look at the day it all happened. I found out something really interesting.”

“And what was that?”

“Some of the Kobra soldiers survived the building collapsing,” Batman explained.

“So, what?” Tumulus asked.

“They talked about how they captured some guy who said he had a sister in the Justice League.”

Tumulus narrowed his eyes.

“So. They set a trap.”

Tumulus hadn’t heard that. He barely even remembered blurting any of that out. His voice caught but he shook his head, “You… you-you don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“You tried playing detective and they caught you,” Batman declared. “They held you until Marie and Basem came to save you! You keep blaming Basem, but it’s time you faced the truth. It’s all on you. All of it!”

“Shut up! SHUT UP!”

“Marie isn’t dead because of Basem, Rene. She’s dead… because of _you!_ ”

Tumulus roared and charged at Batman. Batman clipped a capsule from his utility belt and, when Tumulus was one step away from him, Batman threw the capsule in Tumulus’s face. Batman rolled out of the way of Tumulus’s charge and, using his grappling hook, propelled himself to the metal beams of the ceiling to get out of the range of the gas that exploded from the capsule.

Tumulus started coughing as he breathed in the contents of the capsule. He swung his arms to clear the air but it wasn’t working. He began to stagger, losing his balance. “What…” he started to say before becoming lightheaded. His mind started to get cloudy and he found it hard to focus. He looked up to see Batman sitting on one of the beams in the rafters. “What did you to me?” he asked, coughing again as he fell to a knee.

“A little something a friend of mine worked up,” Batman said. “It was engineered from an old Gotham rogue’s weapon of choice. Ever heard of Scarecrow?”

“What?”

As the toxin started to dissipate, Batman dropped back down to the floor and slowly approached Tumulus, “Yeah, Scarecrow messed a lot of people up with that fear toxin of his. This is a seriously dialed-back version but… it’s still a hard formula for anyone to take. Even you.” He shook his head. “There are lines I will never cross and then… there are lines I hate to cross. Sometimes, though, I’ve learned the hard way… you gotta do what you gotta do.”

Tumulus started staggering back.

“You can feel it. Can’t you? It’s been a long time for you. I bet you hardly recognized it at first. But you know that feeling. You know it very well.”

Tumulus’s breath became stunted. He started shaking. He couldn’t admit it but Batman was right: he could feel it returning to his heart and mind.

For the first time in years, Tumulus felt fear.


	30. Chapter 30

** Chapter 30 **

With Batman and Nightrunner battling Tumulus, the League fought the rest of the Graves. They had taken out all of Blitzkrieg’s and Malum’s mercenaries, leaving only the Graves themselves. Blitzkrieg, Flicker, and Thalia continued to fight against the League, while Troy was still in the sky, fighting Zaria.

With the battle seemingly headed in favor of the League, Malum headed for another hangar, where there was an armored airship almost ready to go. He hurried on board and started up the engines. Malum steered the airship out of the hangar and took to the sky. He aimed the ship at the League and sneered, “Time to finish this.”

He opened fire with the machineguns, attacking the League and forcing them to take cover. This led to them having to alternate between dodging gunfire while still fighting the remaining villains. The League regrouped and took cover as Malum, Blitzkrieg, and Thalia continued their assault. Zaria saw them in trouble and flew down to help them.

Zaria landed amongst her friends, raised her wand, and shouted, “Dleihs!” This summoned a magical, light-blue shield to form around them.

Malum continued his assault while Thalia unleashed her supersonic scream and Troy launched a magic attack.

“Well, this was going well up until about 15 seconds ago!” Plastic Man declared.

“We need to break their alliance,” Koutetsu declared. “They hunt with a pack mentality. Break the pack, secure the win.”

“Guess you’d know,” Vixen said, smirking. “You’ve been fighting them alongside Batman and Runner.”

“Any ideas?” Outlaw said.

“Remove Thalia and Troy from play,” Koutetsu said. “They are the heavy hitters. If enough of their team are down, I believe Blitzkrieg will surrender. That will leave only Malum and Flicker to deal with.”

They looked at Koutetsu, curiously.

Koutetsu took note of their curious stares, “I received information from an informant.”

“Sounds good to me.” Vixen looked at her teammate, “Zaria.”

“I got it!” Zaria replied. “Leave Troy to me!”

“And the rest?” Outlaw asked.

“You guys need a diversion.” Zaria smiled.

“You got one?” Vixen asked.

“Ask. And ye shall receive. Everyone, cover your eyes!”

They did so.

“RALOS ERALF!” Zaria screamed. She slammed her wand against the shield and a blinding light illuminated the area, all the way up into the sky. The Graves stopped their attacks, unable to see. The light subsided a few seconds later, leaving the League with an opening to launch their counterattack.

Plastic Man stretched as fast as he could and expanded his fist to the size of a sedan and punched Flicker in the face, sending him across the airfield and rendering him unconscious. Outlaw drew another weapon, a small grenade launcher, from his back and aimed it at Malum’s airship. Outlaw fired the grenade, damaging the ship, causing it to crash into the ground. Thalia never saw Vixen coming with the speed and power of a rhinoceros. Vixen plowed into Thalia then used the power of an anaconda to wrap herself around the villain’s body. Thalia unleashed her scream again but Vixen moved Thalia’s face so her scream when upward, into the sky. The scream came across and hit Troy, knocking him out of the sky. Zaria used another spell to try and bind Troy to the ground. Thalia kept screaming and, even though the sound wasn’t aimed directly at Vixen, Vixen was still hearing the residuals. Vixen screamed in pain and let go of Thalia, covering her ears.

Thalia got to her feet and looked down at Vixen. “You are finished interfering with the will of the Moirai.”

Seemingly out of nowhere, Koutetsu’s _bokuto_ collided against Thalia’s face, knocking her out and sending her crashing into the ground. Koutetsu hit Thalia with such force, he fell over from the swing. Koutetsu got to his feet and stared at Thalia, making sure she was down.

Vixen laughed. “You enjoyed that.”

“Of course not,” Koutetsu said, breathing hard. He shrugged, “Well. Perhaps a little.”

Blitzkrieg was finally recovering from the blinding light when her sight cleared enough to see Outlaw and Plastic Man standing in front of her. Outlaw had his guns aimed, while Plastic Man was smirking and carrying an unconscious Flicker over his shoulder.

“Oh, motherf…” Blitzkrieg said, dejectedly. She put her arms in the air, “I surrender.”

Outlaw and Plastic Man looked at each, unsure, then back at Blitzkrieg.

“I surrender,” she repeated. Not wanting to make any sudden moves, Blitzkrieg slowly dismantled her rifle, tossing it and her sidearm aside, and got on her knees. She, then, powered down her armor and pressed a button to have the metal pieces fall of her body. She laid, stomach first, on the ground and put her hands behind her back. “This job is officially no longer worth it. Screw it and screw all of them.”

“Smart choice,” Plastic Man said.

“Easy to make when a gun’s in your face.”

“My weapons are non-lethal,” Outlaw said, shrugging, “for the most part.”

“Bet they still hurt like hell,” Blitzkrieg declared.

Outlaw chuckled. “Can’t argue with that.”

* * *

Zaria was still holding Troy at bay but the villain was starting to break through the spell.

“Dammit!” Zaria gritted her teeth, putting more power into the spell to lock it in tighter.

Troy surged his power and broke Zaria’s seal, throwing her back. Troy expended a lot of his energy in setting himself free. Breathing hard, Troy started to get to his feet but saw Vixen and Koutetsu charging at him. Troy moved his hands and sent a whirlwind hurling at the duo, sending them sailing back. Troy was struck in the arm by one of Outlaw’s energy bullets. Troy gritted his teeth and unleashed a beam of energy, forcing Outlaw to take cover. Vixen stampeded toward Troy again and he fired another beam of energy at her, which Vixen dodged. Koutetsu was ran at him, next, and Troy fired another beam in retaliation. Koutetsu blocked the beam before being knocked off his feet. Outlaw opened fire on Troy, hitting him in the back. Troy swung his arms around to fire on Outlaw, but Outlaw kept shooting and moving before diving for cover. Koutetsu and Vixen closed in on Troy but he raised another whirlwind, lifting them in the air.

Outlaw shot at him at a few more times, distracting him again. Since they were already in the air, Vixen and Koutetsu took advantage of the situation. Vixen summoned the powers of an elephant and dropped at an alarming speed. Troy just barely moved out of the way her impact. Koutetsu focused all of his _chi_ into his _bokuto_ and aimed for Troy. Again, Troy just barely managed to dodge but he couldn’t block the shockwave of power from Koutetsu’s strike. Koutetsu recovered quickly and went on the attack against Troy with Vixen joining in. Troy held them off as best he could, but Outlaw kept firing on him. Troy’s anger and irritation was hitting their peak, as well as his pain threshold. He gathered some magic and threw the League back with an explosion of power. The League hit the ground hard, all groaning as they tried to get up.

Troy stopped for a moment to get his breath back, sinking down to his knees.

“Pans stsirw fo yort!”

In an instant, Troy’s wrists broke backwards. He stared at his hands and began shaking. It took a few seconds for the pain to register to his brain. When it did, nothing could stop him from letting out a horrified, agony-filled scream. Troy looked over to see Zaria, breathing hard with her wand aimed at him.

Groaning, Outlaw walked up to Zaria, “How’d you know that would work?”

“I could feel his powers were weakened a bit,” Zaria said. “It wasn’t much but his defenses were lowered enough for my spell to work. A gamble but I had to take it.”

“Works for me.” Outlaw exhaled. “So. We’re done.”

“Yeah,” Zaria said, relieved.

“You think it’s over?” Troy said, looking up at them. He smiled. “It’s not over.” He started swirling magic around his broken hands.

Zaria’s eyes widened. “Troy…”

“I will not go to prison.”

“You can’t use your magic, you fool! Your hands are useless! You could kill yourself!”

Troy smiled. “Oh, my dear, Zaria…” Magic began to shine brighter. “I’m counting on it. After all, I’ll take you all with me!”

“Oh, crap!” Outlaw said, backing up.

“Justice League. See you in hell!”

“Damn!” Zaria swirled magic around her wand. “Noitativel!” She lifted Troy in the air, just as magic energy exploded from his hands then rays of energy erupted from his body. The League just managed to avoid being hit by any beams, while Plastic Man stretched to move Flicker and Blitzkrieg out of the line of fire.

Malum was crawling out of the wreckage of the airship and looked up just as a ray was racing towards him.

Malum’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh,” was all he managed to say before the energy beam hit him, killing him instantly.

Zaria kept lifting Troy’s body higher and higher until the magic dissipated and Troy’s body was completely gone.

Zaria was breathing hard. She looked around, “Everyone okay?!”

Outlaw got up first and nodded, “Yeah.”

Koutetsu and Vixen approached; Vixen holder right arm that had a gash in it.

“I’ve felt worse,” Vixen smiled.

“I’m good!” Plastic Man yelled from across the airfield.

They all breathed a sigh of relief and looked up at the sky.

“Is he gone?” Vixen asked.

“Yeah,” Zaria said. “All of Troy’s magic poured out, destroying his body. Heck, for the most part, his body _was_ magic. It’s why he had so much control over it.”

“You just lost me,” Outlaw said.

“Usually, magic flows _through_ a body. But Troy became such a master that the magic kind of became one with his body. As long as he was able to aim it correctly, he didn’t have any real problems with controlling it.”

“But when you broke his wrists…” Vixen said.

“Right,” Zaria nodded. “It’s like jamming the barrel of a gun. Whatever you do, don’t pull the trigger.” She looked up. “He just didn’t care.”

Plastic Man stretched over, carrying Blitzkrieg and Flicker. “Uh, guys? Malum didn’t look so good.”

“How not good?” Outlaw asked.

“Like he’s ‘really, _really_ dead’ not good.”

“Oh, my,” Koutetsu breathed out.

“That’s gonna take a lot of explaining,” Vixen mused.

Hearing a loud crashing noise, Koutetsu looked toward the hangar where Batman and Runner were fighting Tumulus. “It’ll have to wait! We’re not done yet.”

“Plastic Man, watch these two!” Vixen ordered, pointing at Blitzkrieg and Flicker.

“Done and done!”

“Everyone else, come on!” They hurried over to the hangar.

* * *

Batman and Nightrunner saw the light illuminating the sky, wondering what was going on but they had their own problems. They could only hope the League was okay as they dealt with the raging Tumulus.

Tumulus swung at Batman but was disoriented, making it easy for Batman to dodge. Tumulus repeatedly attempted to hit Batman, but Tumulus was constantly distracted by voices and his own warped vision. Soon, Tumulus had to stop his assault to clutch his head. The voices in his mind were becoming louder and clearer, saying he was responsible for Marie’s death.

“Shut up,” Tumulus whispered.

While Tumulus was distracted, Batman punched the villain across the face. Tumulus staggered back but remained on his feet. Yet he didn’t react to the attack.

Instead, Tumulus was breathing hard. The voices kept getting louder. “No! No! STOP IT!”

Runner stood at Batman’s side, “I… think it’s working.”

“Yeah.” Batman narrowed his eyes. “But… something’s wrong.”

Tumulus started swinging his fists, punching the air. He was yelling. “Stop it! Stop it! Go away! GO AWAY!”

“Was the dosage too strong?” Runner asked.

“Impossible,” Batman answered. “The old man didn’t give him the direct formula. And what he did give him was dialed back.”

“Then what’s…” Runner started to say.

They noticed Tumulus was giving them a death glare as he gritted his teeth.

Batman stared at Tumulus, blankly, and slumped his shoulders. “Oh, shit.”

Seconds later, Batman and Runner were thrown through the wall of the hangar by Tumulus. The Gotham knights struggled to get up.

“Shouldn’t he NOT be doing this?!” Batman shouted, speaking to Bruce.

“ _He shouldn’t,_ ” Bruce said. “ _But he is. You have to bring him down._ ”

“You’re guilty!” Tumulus screamed at Nightrunner. “You have to be guilty! I’ll kill you! Your death will show you!”

“Oh, Rene…” Runner whispered.

“That ain’t good,” Batman mused.

Tumulus ran at them but, suddenly, Vixen crashed against Tumulus, using her rhino powers.

“What’s wrong with him?” Outlaw asked as he and the rest of the League approached.

“Bad case of fear,” Batman answered.

“Monsters…” Tumulus whispered. “YOU’RE ALL MONSTERS!”

Tumulus threw Vixen off of him but Koutetsu and Batman attacked Tumulus with everything they had. Tumulus punched them away and Outlaw opened fire, but the bullets just bounced off of Tumulus’s skin. Tumulus gritted his teeth and walked toward Outlaw.

Zaria aimed her wand at Tumulus and shouted, “Sulumut pots!”

Tumulus became frozen in place, though it was obvious he still struggling.

“Can’t you just put him to sleep?” Outlaw asked.

“Are you serious?!” Zaria asked, straining her voice. “It’s taking all I’ve got just to hold him in place!”

“G…” Tumulus started to say, gritting through his teeth. “Guilty.”

“Rene!” Runner shouted. “Give it up! It’s over!”

Tumulus managed to turn his head and looked at Runner.

“Uhhh, he shouldn’t be able to do that!” Zaria shouted, nervously.

“You’re…” Tumulus said. “…guilty… must… be.” He started to flex his arms.

Outlaw aimed his guns again, “Damn it! This is bad!”

With a roar, Tumulus flung his arms out, breaking himself out of Zaria’s spell. Tumulus stumbled to his knees, struggling to catch his breath.

“How was that even _remotely_ possible?!” Outlaw shouted.

“Most of my magic was spent fighting Troy,” Zaria explained. “And, whatever they did to Rene made him even stronger than any normal human. Even if I was at full strength, I could’ve held someone like Superman but only for like 12 minutes. Maybe. I mean, he’s not that strong but, hell, close enough!”

Tumulus was starting to get to his feet. “Guilty,” he muttered. “He has to be guilty! I DON’T CARE WHAT ANYONE SAYS!”

“Damn it all to hell,” Batman shouted. “Everyone, together! We have to take him down! Now!”

“ _Hai!_ ” Koutetsu shouted as he and Vixen followed behind Batman.

They attacked Tumulus and were in fact dealing some damage, as evidenced by the simple fact that any attack they landed staggered Tumulus. Still, he was putting up a strong fight, in between his fear-fueled ranting.

Batman looked on as Vixen and Koutetsu fought him hand-to-hand while Zaria and Outlaw launched projectile attacks at Tumulus. Batman narrowed his eyes, “Wait a sec.” He got on his comms, “What do we know about the Moirai?”

“ _Not much,_ ” Bruce admitted. “ _Even what Waller sent didn’t have a lot of information on them._ ”

“You think it’s possible that whatever they did to make Rene like he is affected him psychologically?”

“ _I’d say it’s a safe bet. But look at his movements, Terry. He’s slowing down. And he’s nowhere near as ferocious as in previous encounters._ ”

Batman did realize Tumulus’s intensity was lower than it had been and still falling. “You’re right.” He looked at his allies, “Everyone! Keep it up! He’s weakening! We can bring him down!”

The League confirmed the order and attacked with all they had. Tumulus did his best to counterattack but, Bruce was right: he didn’t have the power he had in earlier encounters. He didn’t have the power he had just minutes ago. Even Nightrunner managed to get in a few good hits, though it was killing Basem to have to keep hitting Rene.

Soon, Tumulus’s attacks were coming slower and slower. Batman couldn’t stop himself from remembering his fight with Big Time, but, just like then, the mission came first and this monster had to be brought down.

After another strike from Koutetsu, Tumulus stumbled backward. Tumulus was clearly unsteady on his feet as he struggled to just straighten himself up. Tumulus stared at Runner and was about to make a move for him. But Batman launched himself at Tumulus and, using his rocket boots and all the power he could gather, punched Tumulus hard across the jaw.

The impact took Tumulus off of his feet and sent him crashing into the ground. Batman fell next to Tumulus but scrambled back to his feet and moved away.

Tumulus laid the motionless, and the League looked at each other, unsure, before looking back at Tumulus’s fallen form.

“Is he… done?” Zaria asked.

They slowly approached, still on edge for whatever was coming. Tumulus let out a huge breath of air and they all moved back. Tumulus started moving his mouth.

“Guilty,” he whispered. “He… must be… guilty.” He leaned his head over to the side and closed his eyes.

Runner’s breath caught in his chest.

“Is he…” Vixen asked.

Batman walked over, knelt down and checked Tumulus’s vitals. “No. He’s still alive. Just unconscious.”

Runner exhaled in relief as he fell to his knees. Vixen walked over and sat down next to Runner, leaning on his shoulder. Outlaw walked over to Runner as well, placing a hand on his other shoulder.

“Then… we did it,” Zaria said. “Right? It’s over?”

Batman looked at her, “Yeah, Zee.” He looked at Runner and smiled. “We won.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: In case anyone was wondering, the ending was partly inspired by "Batman: Arkham Origins". I find that to be an underrated game and it's worthy of the Arkham series and the Batman mythos.


	31. Chapter 31

** Chapter 31 **

It was morning when Basem woke up and he found himself very disoriented. He wasn’t sure where he was at first but he did feel bandages all over his body. His eyes began to focus and looked to see that he was in his room in Wayne Manor. He, slowly and painfully, sat up and looked around to see Sally was asleep in the chaise longue at the other end of the room. He couldn’t speak right away as his throat felt very dry, telling him he’d been out for at least a day. He coughed and cleared his throat, causing Sally to slowly wake up.

She saw Basem sitting up and she started crying, “Babe.”

She rushed over and hugged him as hard as she could. He just closed his eyes and cried against her.

“It’s okay,” Sally whispered. “You let it all out. It’ll be okay.”

He couldn’t stop crying. No matter what. In the end, Rene did win. He wanted to break Basem.

He succeeded.

* * *

After the conclusion of the battle the night before, the Gotham Knights and the League turned over the remaining members of the Graves to the GCPD to await to be transferred to various prisons around the world; Blitzkrieg, Flicker, and most of the mercenaries that had been hired by Blitzkrieg and Malum were wanted in more than one country. It was more than likely Blaze would stay stateside with some leniency shown for her aid in bring the Graves down. Thalia was an interesting case as there was no record of her anywhere; Bruce explained she would probably just be transferred to super maximum security for villains of her caliber. She would also likely be questioned in hopes of learning more about the Moirai. As Bruce and Barbara explained it, there would be no ramifications for the heroes, regarding Malum’s and Troy’s deaths, as they were caught in the crossfire of Troy’s attack. Essentially, it was viewed as a murder-suicide on the part of Troy. No one argued with that.

Terry was sitting in the kitchen in his home, staring into nothing as the events of the past few weeks replayed in his head. Basem being his biggest concern.

Max walked down the stairs and, briskly, hurried over to Terry, “Hey! Sally just called! B’s finally awake. Come on!” She started to walk toward the garage but noticed her husband hadn’t moved yet. “Terry?”

“Was he crying?” Terry asked.

“Huh?”

“B. When Sally called, was he crying?”

Max was stunned. “Yeah. How’d you…”

“You didn’t seem him, Max. Right after it was all over. Once he had a chance to think about it, once it was over… I knew he would be a mess.” Terry shook his head. “Tumulus got what he wanted. He got inside his head. More importantly, he got inside B’s heart. He broke him.”

Max slowly approached as worrying thought entered her mind. She walked back over to the table and sat down. “Terry. Do you think B will… hang it up?”

Terry had been thinking about that for the past day. “I don’t know,” he said, honestly. “I hope not. But… tragedy can break anyone if it hits hard enough.”

“Do you think you’d be able to handle it?”

“That’s something else I’ve been thinking about.” Terry looked at Max and took hold of her hand. “Remember when Curaré tried to kill you?”

Max shuddered at the memory. “Yeah.”

“If she had… succeeded… I don’t know what would’ve happened to me. I know, for sure… I never would’ve recovered from it. If I had lost you to her… or to Spellbinder… I…” He sighed. “There’s just no telling what I would’ve turned into without you.”

“I could say the same to you. Especially now.”

“You’re strong, Max. Stronger than you give yourself credit for.”

“And so are you. And so is Basem.” She shook her head. “But you’re right. I don’t know what he’ll do. I’m scared for him.”

“Same. But whatever he does…” He nodded, “I’m gonna have his back.”

“Me, too.” She sighed. “I just hope we can help him through this.”

“We will. Whatever it takes, whatever he needs.”

She smiled at her husband, “I want you to know… all you’ve been doing for everyone? It hasn’t gone unnoticed. I’m so proud of you for how you’ve been handling all this, Terry.”

He smiled back. “Thanks.” He let out an exhausted breath, “I won’t say it’s been easy.”

“I know it hasn’t.”

“I just want to keep my family together.”

She kissed his hand. “You’re doing a pretty good job so far.”

He looked down at her stomach, “I hope I can keep that up.”

“I’m not worried about that. Not anymore and never again.”

* * *

An hour later, Terry, Max, Sally, Hayate, and the others were all in Basem’s room as Basem stood staring out of the window. Everyone was nervous as to what to say. Basem was clearly still disturbed by everything that happened. Terry was right: whatever Tumulus had said and done to him had hurt him, deeply.

“Rene really put you through it,” Sally said.

“Seriously,” Max agreed.

“B, man,” Alex said. “Are you okay?”

“No,” Basem replied. He lightly tapped his forehead on the window. “No matter what… he was right.”

“I’m sorry but what?” Terry asked, incredulously.

“Terry. Listen to me. No matter what, I gave Marie the okay for us to go into that building.”

“To save Rene!” Ari contested. “You were doing to save her brother’s life!”

“And she died! That drove him to become a homicidal maniac! Now, dozens of people are dead, possibly hundreds injured, and he’s going to spend the rest of his natural life in a room with four concrete walls and no sunlight!” Basem shook his head. “Who did I really save?” He walked over to a chair and sat down. “It’s like everything I did that day was wrong and no one benefited from it. Marie, Stephen, Rene. Then it all caught up to me.” He looked at Sally, “I put you in harm’s way.” He looked at League teammates. “I even left Paris, leaving all of you behind. It got hard and ditched my friends.”

“But you did not,” Hayate insisted. “You needed a life change. Any one of us can understand that.”

“But look at how many were hurt because of me. Died because of me. Rene was right. I’m no hero. I definitely wasn’t then. Maybe, I never was.”

The room fell silent, everyone growing extremely concerned about Basem’s mental state. He had been through so much. No one knew what to say or do to help him.

Well, almost no one.

“Are you _through?!_ ” Terry said, surprising everyone. “God, you sound like a soap opera! I mean, like one of the God-awful ones that’s only on in the afternoon because it was good 20 years ago, but they have new cast, now, with three good actors and the rest _suck!_ ”

It took a while for everyone to register everything Terry just said. Primarily, out of disbelief that he said it, followed by dissecting the affront.

“That was an oddly specific insult,” Hayate noted.

“It was more well-thought-out,” Basem said, exasperated, “which is unlike him.”

“And acting like a whiny little piss ant ain’t in your attitude, either!” Terry fired right back, rising to his feet.

Basem stared at Terry and shook his head, “Your bedside manner is the worst.”

“Oh, suck it up, Murdock!”

“That didn’t even rhyme nor was it clever.”

“Shut up!” Terry started pacing. “How long are you gonna keep this pity party up? I mean, seriously! You’re safe and we’re all alive! The Graves are done and locked up! Will you take the damn win?!”

“What do you want from me?!” Basem asked, frustrated. “I’m a bit out of sorts, Terry! Rene did spend a whole day torturing me and pointing out all of my mistakes!”

“And what the hell does Bruce do to us in training?!”

“He doesn’t lock us in a small room and replay our failures! Or put us under the constant threat of death!”

“Do you even pay attention when we train?!”

“Is this how they always are?” Ari asked Max.

“Actually, yes,” Max answered. “I think this’ll help.”

“Yes, it was screwed up what Rene did!” Terry said, still shouting at Basem. “But all of this that happened was Rene’s fault! Not yours! And now it’s over! We won! And I’ll be damned if I let you stay acting like an emo kid!”

“In no way is this a win, Terry!” Basem insisted. “Because Rene…”

“You say he was right one more time and I’m hurling you out that window!” Terry interrupted.

Basem scoffed. “Well, _that’s_ a relief! I don’t agree with you and now _you_ wanna kill me!”

“Oh, please! With your dramatic ass! It’s like, what? Two, maybe three stories up? You’d live!” Terry looked Basem over. “Paralyzed, maybe, but you’d live!”

Basem groaned.

“I don’t give a damn what that asshole told you! What happened to Marie wasn’t your fault! You can’t control everything, B! Hell, we can barely control anything!”

“So, what?! Marie’s death was destiny? Fate?! Does that make it okay?! Aren’t we supposed to defy fate?!”

“I never said it was okay but we do our best!” Terry said. “Yes, Marie’s death is painful for you! I’m hurt for you knowing you went through that, but stop blaming yourself! We can’t save everyone all the time. If we could, my dad would be alive.”

Basem slowly closed his mouth, unable to respond to that.

“You didn’t create the situation that led to Marie’s death. Kobra did. Rene did. You didn’t make Marie go save Rene. She did. You cannot keep blaming yourself for everyone else’s decisions that you got dragged into.”

“You’re the difference maker,” Basem replied. “All the time. Other people’s problems, ones that you had nothing to do with, and you were the solution. It’s why I’m still alive. Why Max is still alive. Hell, you’ve even saved Bruce before! Damn it, you saved the Justice League and the _whole_ world once! Why couldn’t I be that for Marie and Rene? And Stephen?”

“You’re not gonna convince me that you never saved them before!”

“But I didn’t one time! Once and they’re gone! Explain to me how that’s right!”

“Victor Fries,” Terry said, simply.

Again, Basem had no response.

Terry took a second at the memory of Freeze’s death. Surprisingly, it still stung. He shook his head and shrugged, “I couldn’t save him. I saw the good in him, but the rest of the world could only see the bad. There was nothing I could do about that. Eventually, he chose his own path. It got him killed. His own decisions. When he died, there were two things I could do. One, I could either admit I can’t help anyone from that point forward and hang it up for good.”

Basem stared at Terry. “And two?”

“Two? I could deal with it. Fight on and do my best to make sure it never happens again.”

“But what about when it _does_ happen again?”

Terry shrugged, “None of us are perfect. We can’t stop everything. We’re not all-powerful. But that doesn’t mean we can quit. Because we can save _someone_. Someone gets to go home because we do what we do. But sometimes, it’s not everyone. Sometimes, we do fail and we have to carry that. The fight goes on and we have to be there. We mourn who we lose. Fight for who we still have.”

Basem looked down, “It’s a vicious cycle.”

“Yeah, it is. And we signed up for it. The good, the bad, the horrible. And we signed up for it because we can take it.”

Basem looked down at the floor as tears started streaming down his face. Sally wanted to go to him but Max stopped her as Terry approached Basem. Terry put his hand on Basem’s shoulder, causing his brother to look up at him.

“ _You_ can take it,” Terry said to Basem. “He broke you. That’s fine. It happens to all of us. Maybe we even need it. Keeps us humble. And human. But, you broken? It’s only temporary. You’re stronger than anything he did to you. That’s why you’re Nightrunner. Because you can take it.”

Basem wiped his eyes. “Rene. I just wished I could’ve saved him. His soul, more than anything.”

“But you couldn’t. He didn’t want to be saved. I think he knew the truth the whole time but he couldn’t accept it. He wanted to hate someone else, anyone else. If hadn’t been you, it would’ve been someone. That’s not your fault. All you can do… is forgive him. That’s all you can do. It’s all that’s left now.”

Basem chuckled softly. He didn’t feel completely better but he did feel more hope than he did minutes ago. “When you pick your spots, McGinnis, you sure know how to pick ‘em.”

“It’s why Max is pregnant,” Sally said, smiling. “By the way, where was the spot? Bed? Bathroom? Car? Random clothing store dressing room?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Max smiled, coyly.

“Yes, you bitch! That’s why I asked!”

The whole room laughed at that.

* * *

The rest of the day, everyone spent most of their time recovering from the battles of the past few days. The League discussed their plans to go back to France.

“So, I guess we can head back to Paris tomorrow,” Ari said.

“I can’t thank you guys enough for being here,” Basem said. “You saved me.”

“You would’ve done the same for us,” Alex said.

“Think we can talk you into coming home?” Lance asked. “If even for a little while?”

Bruce picked up his cup and silently sipped his tea.

“If your boss says it’s okay?”

Basem gave a small grin. “I probably should for a while.” He became solemn. “After all… I’ll be there for Stephen’s funeral.”

“Do it,” Terry said. “Stay home, recharge your batteries. I can handle things until you come back. And until you’re ready to suit up again.”

“But handling Gotham all on your own?”

“You do know I did it for years before I met you, right? Trust me. I got this.”

“In regards to that, Terry, I’d like to make a proposal,” Hayate said, standing up.

“What’s that?” Terry asked.

“I think it would in the best interest for everyone if I remained, here, in Gotham, for a while.”

“Hayate!” Ari said, surprised.

“Not forever,” Hayate reassured. “But… I feel I can do much good here as Basem recovers and returns to full, active duty.”

“Sure this isn’t just about you wanting to hook up with Blaze?” Terry asked.

Hayate rolled his eyes.

“Wait!” Alex exclaimed. “Who did what?!”

“Nothing!” Hayate replied.

“So, that supervillain with fire is hot for you?” Ari smiled. “Oh, yeah! You’re never living that down!”

“She is in prison,” Hayate pointed out.

Terry looked at Bruce, “Aren’t conjugal visits still a thing?”

Bruce took a sip of tea, “Yup.”

They all laughed at that.

Basem looked at Hayate, “Are you sure?”

“Positive,” Hayate replied. “It would be my honor.”

“All good with you?” Terry asked Bruce.

“He’s by far the easiest person I’ve had to deal with who has ever been in that cave,” Bruce answered. “He’s more than welcome.”

“I’m gonna let that comment slide and simply say that settles that.”

Basem looked at everyone, “I’m far more blessed than I deserve.”

Sally took his hand and kissed it, “Absolutely.”

“Been telling you that for weeks,” Terry remarked. “Two other people say it and suddenly it makes sense! Guess this is what it feels like to be a parent. Only difference is my kid is an adult.”

Basem’s face hardened as he looked over at Terry. “I’m really glad Grace has Max for a mother because the poor girl’s father is a DUMBASS!”

Terry clenched his jaw and shot a glare at Basem. “So. It’s like that, huh?”

“Did I stutter? I know I didn’t speak French!”

“That’s true. So, here’s an English word for you: JACKASS!”

“Oh, yeah?!” Basem shouted.

“Yeah!” Terry fired back.

They started to argue, much to the surprise of Ari, Alex, and Lance and to the amusement of Max, Sally, and Hayate. Bruce just rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“Are they always like this?” Ari asked.

“Always,” Max and Sally replied.

Lance looked at Ari and Alex, “If this always happens, can’t we just stay here, too?!”


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32 **

The following evening, the League headed back to Paris to straighten a few things out while Koutetsu stayed in Gotham. Batman and Nightrunner went to the GCPD headquarters where Tumulus was still locked up, awaiting transportation to a super maximum security prison. Barbara was waiting for the two as they walked down the hallway.

“Hey, Commish,” Batman said as he and Runner approached.

“Evening, boys,” Barbara greeted.

“Does he know we’re coming?” Runner asked.

“I told him he had visitors and left it that. You guys have about seven minutes. Any longer would be questionable.”

“Sure you won’t catch hell for this?” Batman asked.

“Positive,” Barbara said, giving a sly smile.

Batman nodded at her then looked at Runner, “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” Runner replied.

They walked into the cell and saw Rene sitting on a metal block. Rene was dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit and white slippers. His ankles were in shackles and his arms spread out and bond to the walls, leaving him completely immobile save for being able to lift his head.

Rene lifted his eyes up and looked at them. He felt a mixture of anger and sorrow. And indifference. It made his expression hard for Runner to get a lock on.

“Is there anything left?” Runner asked.

Rene just stared at Runner.

“Anything at all?”

Rene turned his head away.

Runner exhaled, “I’m sorry, Rene. For everything. I can’t do anything more for you. Maybe I never could. And I am so sorry for that.” He turned to leave. “Good-bye.”

As Runner started to walk back toward the door, Batman walked forward, stopping just inches away from Rene. Runner stopped, curious as to why Batman approached the prisoner.

“Do you know me?” Batman asked. “Under this mask?”

Rene stared at Batman, blankly.

“Yeah, you do. You didn’t watch him all this time and not figure it out. You know you’re wrong. About everything. Runner didn’t kill your sister and he didn’t get her killed. He never would’ve done that, and I know him well enough to know that. And, the saddest part about all of this is so do you. Your sister loved him. She loved her fiancé, the very man you killed. And she loved you. She would’ve gone to save any one of you. But you? You were the one she wanted to save at that moment. Because she loved you. She didn’t care what it cost, even if that meant her life. She cared that you lived. I know that because I’ve faced that struggle myself.”

Rene looked down with a hint of shame and regret flashing in his eyes.

“You did horrible things, Tumulus. You will answer for them. I don’t know if there’s any redemption for you. But you’ll have to face your own failures. Like we all do. Runner was not to blame for what happened to your sister. He never was. But you caused the events that happened the past few months.” Batman shook his head. “You have to pay for what you did.”

Rene glared at Batman.

“We’re going to bury your victims. Pay them the respect they deserve. But your sins don’t end with their funerals. They’ll follow you. Forever.”

Rene looked down again, pain finally clearing showing through on his face.

“You’ll have to bear those burdens, Tumulus,” Batman declared. “For the rest of your life. And unlike Runner, you caused all this, and the guilt is yours. And yours alone. I hope you can find your own path of redemption. I hope you have the courage to walk it once you do. There’s no one who can save you now. Not from this. It’s all on you.” He turned and looked at Runner. “We’re done here.”

They walked out of the cell, closing and locking the door behind them. Barbara, having heard the whole conversation, gave Batman a nod of approval.

“Batman,” Runner said.

Batman stared at him.

“Thanks.”

* * *

The heroes arrived back at the Cave, removing their masks as they walked toward the computer where Bruce and Hayate where standing by.

Bruce was staring at the monitors, “City’s been quiet.”

“I kind of expected it to be,” Terry leaned against the computer. “Usually is after something this crazy. At least for a few nights.”

Basem stood, silently, with his hands in his pockets.

Bruce turned and looked at Basem, “Are you alright?”

“It was just hard to see him like that,” Basem admitted. “I remember the kid who used to follow me around, the man who lost his sister, and the monster who committed those terrible crimes.” He scratched his head. “He didn’t look like any of those people. I don’t know who that was we just saw.”

“Every person he’s become, he created himself. Terry’s right. You cannot take the blame for anything he is or isn’t. He made his own choices. Just like we all do.”

Basem nodded.

Terry checked his phone and smiled. “Well. We have something that’ll hopefully brighten your mood. Get changed.”

Terry and Basem changed clothes and headed upstairs with Bruce and Hayate. They walked into the living room and found Sally and Max sitting and talking with Bilal and Adeline. Everyone looked toward the Gotham heroes and, upon seeing her son, Adeline immediately had tears in her eyes.

“Mom,” Basem whispered. “Dad.”

“Son,” Adeline jumped up and rushed at Basem, engulfing him in a hug with Basem hugging her right back.

Bilal walked over and placed his hand on Basem’s shoulder. “You okay?”

“I’m working on it, Dad,” Basem answered.

“You can do it, son.” Bilal wrapped his arms around his son and wife. “You’re strong.”

“Thanks, _Babaan_.”

The Asselah family held each other for a while. Adeline looked over at Sally, “You get in here, too.”

Sally perked up. “Oh! Uh! Sure!” She got up and joined in the family embrace. After their hug, everyone wiped their eyes.

“So,” Basem said, “you’ve gotten to know Sally a bit, I see.”

“Yes,” Adeline said. “And I absolutely adore her.”

“Awww!” Sally said, blushing.

“She’s pretty great, right?” Basem said.

“Honestly, son, I’m trying to figure out how you got such a wonderful girl.” Bilal smirked, “To be honest, she may be too good for you.”

While Sally had to hold back laughing, Basem narrowed his eyes at his father. “Gee. Thanks?”

“I said the same thing when I heard Adeline said she’d marry you, Bilal,” Bruce said as he sat down. The whole room laughed at that.

Bilal chuckled, bitterly. “Ahhh, Bruce! Always good to see you.”

“You, as well.”

Bilal looked at Terry, “Thank you. For everything.”

“I didn’t do much,” Terry said.

“Nonsense,” Adeline walked up to Terry and hugged him. “If it hadn’t been for you, my son would be dead. I couldn’t ask for him to have better family.”

Terry hugged Adeline back, “He’d do the same for me.”

“In a heartbeat,” Basem said.

The doorbell rang and Bruce looked at Terry.

Terry sighed, “Yeah, yeah.” He cleared his throat and put on his best snobbish voice, “Yes, Master Wayne. I shall fetch your guests, Master Wayne.”

“Keep it up and I’ll make you keep using that voice,” Bruce warned.

Terry rolled his eyes as he went to get the door.

“Who’s that?” Basem asked.

Max smiled. “After such a tough time, we figured being around family and friends would be good for all of us.”

Terry walked back in with Melissa, Eddie, and Lisa following behind him. Seeing them all immediately brought a bigger smile to Basem’s face. A bigger surprise awaited Basem as Joe walked in as well. Everyone greeted and introduced themselves to one another with Joe coming to Basem last.

“It’s a surprise to see you, Mr. Gibson!” Basem said. “What are you doing here?”

“I was in town and heard you were having some hard times, young man,” Joe answered. “Max said that you’d lost a couple of friends who were very close to you.”

Basem shrugged, “That’s one way of putting it.” It was accurate, if nothing else.

“I’m sorry about that.”

“We all are,” Mel said.

“Thank you,” Basem replied.

“But I just want you to know,” Joe said, “you’re stronger than anything life is throwing at you. I’ve seen that fire in you firsthand. You can get through this. If life’s throwing curve balls, life needs to check who it’s dealing with.”

Basem smiled. “I really appreciate that, sir. More than you know. Thank you.”

Joe extended his hand and Basem shook it, “My pleasure, Mr. Asselah.”

Terry smiled at the scene then smirked. He chuckled, “Hey, Max. Remember that time when you totally forgot Eddie’s last name?”

“I will kill you, darling husband!” Max said, immediately.

“Before that,” Bruce said, “I’ve arranged for all of us to go out to dinner. Max, you can kill Terry afterward.”

“Okay!” Max smiled.

“You wouldn’t even stop her?!” Terry shouted. “What about Grace?”

“You think I wouldn’t take care of Max and Grace? After all, I like them more.”

“Grace isn’t even here yet!”

Bruce raised an eyebrow, “And?”

“I really hate you sometimes,” Terry said.

“Food on Bruce Wayne?” Sally asked, ignoring their argument. “I’m in.”

“With regrets, I must decline,” Hayate said. “I have another matter that I must attend to.”

“Oh, are you sure?” Lisa asked. “You’re than welcome, Mr. Hayate.”

“You do me much honor, Ms. Gibson,” Hayate said, giving a slight bow. “But this quite a pressing appointment, I’m afraid. Perhaps another time.”

“Too bad,” Melissa said. “I was hoping to get to know you. Sal and Max have been talking you up a lot, and I know a few girls who’d benefit from a good guy like you.”

“He’s already being scoped out by one,” Terry smirked.

Hayate just groaned and rolled his eyes.

Basem looked at Hayate with a knowing look. “Are you sure, Hayate?”

Hayate returned the gaze. “Positive. If I my meeting turns… troublesome, I’ll give you a call.”

Basem nodded.

“Ah, he’ll be fine!” Terry walked over to Basem and put his arm around him, “Tonight, we hang out with family. We smile and have a good time. How’s that sound?”

Basem nodded, “Sounds good to me.”

They would smile tonight. They would laugh. They would put everything behind them for a little longer. They needed to.

After all, there were still a few tears left to shed.

* * *

A couple of days later, Terry, Basem, Bruce, Sally, Max, and Hayate were in Paris to lay Stephen Bellerose to rest; the Paris members of the League were present in their civilian identities as were various members of the _gendarmerie_ including Le Grande’s daughter, Vivian. Terry, Max, Bruce, and Hayate flew in just for the day of the funeral and were going back that night while Basem and Sally decided to stay in Paris for a few days. They all stood in front of Stephen’s grave in Cimetière Saint-Pierre in Marseille. Basem explained to Terry and the others Stephen was from Marseille and most of his family was buried here. It was only fitting that he got to go home.

Basem stood before the casket with Sally holding his hand and Terry having his hand on Basem’s shoulder. When the minister had concluded the service, all the mourners, one by one, placed flowers on Stephen’s grave. Everyone had walked off, save for Basem and Terry who placed their flowers on the casket last.

After laying their flowers, they stood staring at the casket and Basem closed his eyes, letting the tears flow. Terry put his arm around Basem’s shoulders.

“Are you sure you don’t need me to come back?” Basem asked.

“Me and Hayate can handle things,” Terry answered. “We got this. Heal yourself up. And I don’t mean just physically.”

Basem fell silent for a while before whispering, “I didn’t think this would still hurt so much.”

“It always does. No matter how much time passes.”

Basem looked at Terry. It wasn’t hard to tell that McGinnis was thinking of his father, Warren, above all others. “Does it get easier?”

Terry smiled at Basem, “Only when you have the right people around you.”

Basem nodded. “Thanks for being here, Terry. I’m sad of the circumstances that brought me to Gotham… but I can never say I regret the results.”

“Right back at you, brother.”

Terry patted Basem’s shoulder and they headed for the car where Max, Bruce, Sally, and Basem’s parents were waiting. Basem smiled at the sight. The tragedies that led him to Gotham would always loom, but the blessings that came from that move would always be present as well.

Basem couldn’t ask for more than that.

* * *

**_Stryker’s Island Penitentiary._ **

Blaze was lying on the cot in her jail cell, staring up at the ceiling. She hated she blew all that money away and that she was stuck in prison now, but, for some reason, it felt worth it. She felt like a weight was lifted off of her. She attributed the feeling to “doing the right thing.” Not always her first choice of action, but, this time, it felt pretty good.

She heard someone approach her cell and looked toward the door.

“Michelle Prince,” the guard said. “On your feet.”

Blaze stood up, confused. “What’s going on?”

The guard opened the cell door and two men in black suits and sunglasses walked in.

“Uhhh. Okay?”

The men moved out of the way to reveal Amanda Waller standing behind them.

“Who’re you?” Blaze asked.

“My name is Amanda Waller,” Waller she entered the cell, “and I have a proposition for you, Ms. Prince.”

“What kind of proposition?”

“Decades ago, I used to assemble groups of special people like yourself to do what I said, when I said and how I said, but now… I’ve come to offer something instead.”

“And what’s that?” Blaze asked.

“A chance at redemption,” Waller said. “A chance to make something of yourself. A chance to put those powers of yours to good use. A chance to be… better.”

Blaze nodded and shrugged, “Well. You’ve got my attention, lady.”

Waller smiled. “I thought I might.”


	33. Chapter 33

** Chapter 33 **

**_Four Months Later._ **

Despite the hard road they had just been through, life returned to some semblance of normalcy for the Gotham Knights and their family. Terry continued his vigilance of Gotham with Hayate still in town to aid them until Basem felt he was ready to come back full-time. Basem had gone out from time to time, but he was still taking it slow. No one blamed him for that.

One evening, Terry was watching television in the living room of his home while Max was upstairs. Max was in their bedroom, reading, when she felt a sharp pain. She looked down at her stomach and gasped.

“Umm… Terry?” Max asked, shouting so he could hear her.

“Yeah?” Terry shouted back.

“What did Juno say in the movie when her water broke? Oh, wait, I remember. THUNDERCATS ARE GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Terry’s eyes went wide then he jumped up, “NOBODY PANIC! NOBODY PANIC!” He rushed upstairs, grabbed the bags they already had prepared, and helped her get down the stairs and to the car. “Just remember to keep breathing.”

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Max asked.

“Okay, I, uh…”

“Oh, God, Terry! Shut up and get me to the hospital.”

“Right!”

They hurried to Gotham General Hospital, calling Basem and Sally on the way who met them there. The doctors rushed Max into the delivery room, with Terry and Sally going in as well. Basem stayed in the waiting room; he called Bruce while he was waiting. Minutes later, Bruce and Hayate arrived at the hospital, followed shortly thereafter by Barbara Gordon and Clark Kent.

Basem was surprised to see the latter two. “I thought about calling you, Clark,” Basem said, smiling. “I just wasn’t sure if you would make it”

Clark smiled back. “I wouldn’t have missed this for the world.”

“Ditto,” Barbara said. “Have to meet the latest member of the clan.”

“How long have they been in there?”

“About 15 minutes,” Basem answered.

“I pray things are going well,” Hayate said.

Basem chuckled. “Sally’s in there. I doubt she’ll even remotely let things go wrong.”

* * *

Terry and Max were dressed in the proper hospital attire then were brought into the delivery room, just as Sally was walking in as well. She smiled at the couple and they smiled back.

“This is for real happening,” Sally said.

“Yeah, it is,” Max said, in between taking several breaths.

Sally smiled and down at Max’s lower body. She jerked her head back, “Okay, seriously, woman, how did you keep your quads and calves lookin’ like this while you’re pregnant?”

“Sal!” Terry and Max shouted.

“Baby! Grace! Right!” Sally looked up at Max, “You ready for this?”

Max nodded, “Yeah.”

Sally looked at Terry, “How about you, Dad?”

“I’m ready,” Terry answered.

Sally smiled, confidently. “Let’s do this.”

* * *

Basem was sitting next to Bruce, staring straight ahead, while Hayate, Barbara, and Clark were reading magazines. Bruce looked over at Basem as he noticed the young hero’s right leg bouncing up and down at a rapid speed.

“Anxious, are we?” Bruce asked.

“You can’t tell me you’re not,” Basem said.

Bruce smiled. “Perhaps.”

“Don’t listen to him, Basem,” Clark said. “If his heart beats any faster, he’s lucky we’re already in a hospital.”

“Read your magazine!”

Melissa, Eddy, and Lisa walked into the waiting room, causing Bruce and Basem to rise to their feet and everyone exchanging greetings.

Mel, who was carrying her daughter, Lita, hugged Basem then let him go, “Any news?”

“Not yet,” Basem said.

“I’m nervous!” Lisa said. She looked at everyone as they stared at her, blankly. “Did I say that out loud? Sorry. It kinda flew out. I feel like I didn’t need to say it seeing as I’m the grandma but I’m really nervous!” She stopped. “I’m not making any sense, am I?”

“It’s okay, Mom,” Mel laughed.

“You guys call Mrs. McGinnis?” Eddy asked.

“Her and Matty are on a plane right now,” Basem replied. He checked his watch, “Should be landing in about 20 minutes.”

“I called Dad,” Mel said. “He was trying to get a flight as we were speaking.” She felt her phone vibrate. She looked at it and smiled, “Dad’s on a flight. Should be here in a couple of hours.”

“So, we just wait?” Lisa asked.

Mel looked at her, amused, “Yes, Mom. That’s kinda what you did with Lita.”

“And I was a wreck then, too!”

Chelsea walked into the waiting room next, “Well, I’m in the right place! The gang’s all here!”

“Hey, Chelsea,” Basem said.

“Hi, Basem,” Chelsea greeted. She looked at Bruce and waved at him, who gave her a nod in return. She looked back at Basem, “I miss anything?”

“Not yet.”

“Just Mom’s freak out,” Mel smiled.

“I’m allowed!” Lisa declared.

Barbara leaned over to Clark and whispered, “Did you ever think you’d see the day Batman would have family and in-laws waiting for his wife to give birth to his child?”

“I’m still stuck on the fact that Batman is married,” Clark whispered.

Bruce cleared his throat, loudly, letting them both know he could hear them even though the others could not.

After just thirty minutes had gone by, Mary and Matty McGinnis walked into the waiting room, much to the surprise to the rest of the family. Everyone greeted and hugged one another.

“That was fast!” Basem noted.

“Once we landed, we ran out of the airport,” Mary said. “We barely packed any luggage.”

“Didn’t need it!” Matty said. “I’m here to see my niece!”

“Any news?”

Unseen by everyone, Clark perked up a little and looked toward the delivery section doors and smiled. Bruce caught Clark’s grin and gave him an inquiring look.

Clark just nodded.

Basem shrugged, “No, we haven’t…”

The doors toward the delivery room section opened and Terry walked out in a daze. Everyone looked at him, holding their breath.

Terry smiled and chuckled. He wiped a tear away that was working its way down his cheek, “Holy crap, she is so cute.”

The amount of happiness was overwhelming as everyone rushed at Terry, started crying and hugging each other. Bruce, who was still sitting down, just let out a relieved breath and sat back. Barbara and Clark walked over to Terry and congratulated him. Bruce got up last and walked over to Terry and grabbed him in a tight hug.

“I’m proud of you,” Bruce said.

“Thanks, Bruce,” Terry replied.

Bruce patted Terry’s back and they released the hug.

“How’s Max?” Lisa asked.

“Great!” Terry answered. “She came through like a champ.”

“And… Grace?” Mary asked.

“Perfect,” Terry replied. He stopped in wonder. “Just… perfect. Sally and the doctors got her all cleaned up and let me hold her. Then I brought her over to Max. I mean, Grace was already crying, but, Max held her then she started crying. Then Sally was crying. Then,” he started laughing, “I was crying. Then I think a couple of nurses were crying.”

Everyone laughed along with him. Mary put her hand on Terry’s cheek. “I’m so proud of you,” Mary said.

“Thanks, Mom,” Terry said. “It was pretty crazy in there.”

“I know the feeling,” Eddy said.

“Yeah, I kinda yelled at him when I was in labor,” Mel said. “Aggressively.”

“She called me a ‘jackass’ about eight times.”

“I said I was sorry!”

“Still hurt!” Eddy said, feigning sorrow.

Mel rolled her eyes.

“Well, Max did tell me to shut up,” Terry shrugged. “But I’m used to that.”

“You always deserve it,” Basem said.

Terry glared at him.

The door opened again and Sally walked out, carrying Grace in her arms. Grace was 5 pounds and 6 ounces, her skin tone was a few shades dark than Terry’s, and had a small bit of dark black hair on her head.

“Oh, my God…” Mary whispered.

“Everyone,” Sally said, trying not to cry. “I want you all to meet Grace Adeline McGinnis.”

“Making her big debut to the world,” Eddy said.

“I’m sorry but that is the cutest baby I’ve ever seen!” Chelsea said.

Sally walked over to Terry, “Here ya go, Daddy.” She put Grace in Terry’s arms.

“Daddy,” Terry whispered as he looked at Grace. “Wow.”

Mel lifted Lita up and leaned her forward, “Look, Lee-Lee! It’s your cousin!”

Lita smiled and let out a happy cheer.

“I’M AN UNCLE!” Matty shouted, throwing his arms in the air.

Mary paused and exhaled, “Oh, God, I’m a grandmother.”

Terry laughed, “Mom! You knew that was coming!”

“Yeah but now it’s here!”

Lisa was doing her best not to cry. “When can we see Max?”

“They’re moving her to another room,” Sally answered. “We should be able to go back now, actually. I just knew that you guys didn’t wanna wait to see Grace.”

“We could’ve waited,” Mel said.

“No, we couldn’t,” Mary, Matty, and Lisa said, simultaneously.

Everyone walked into the room and found Max lying in bed. Max looked at them all and gave them a tired smile.

“If all of you are expecting me to do a dance, you’re gonna be disappointed,” Max said, exhaustedly. “I’m taking a break from my one-woman stage production of _The Greatest Showman_.”

“Damn,” Sally said as they all crowded into the room. “And here I was thinking you were gonna perform a showcase number of ‘This is Me’.”

“Sorry. The Magnificent Max Show is on hiatus until further notice.”

“We’ll forgive you this time,” Mel said.

Max saw Terry holding Grace and stare in awe. “Wow.”

“What?” Terry asked.

“Just when I thought I’d have everything I ever wanted… you walked in holding our daughter.”

Terry walked over to Max and kissed her. They looked at Grace then back at each other.

Terry laughed, “This is so crazy!”

“Who are you telling?” Max laughed, tears coming to her eyes.

“Oh, damn!” Sally started looking for tissues, “I’m gonna be dehydrated from all the crying I’ve done today.”

“You, too?” Chelsea asked, wiping her own eyes.

Lisa walked over to her daughter and hugged Max with all she had. “I’m so proud of you, baby.”

Max rested her head on Lisa’s shoulder, “Thanks, Mom.”

* * *

A couple of hours later, Joe arrived at the hospital and walked into Max’s room to see her holding Grace in her arms. Max and Terry looked at Joe and smiled. Joe just started laughing with joy as tears formed in his eyes. Joe walked over to Terry and pulled him into a bear hug, Terry was shocked but hugged him back.

Joe let Terry go and wiped his eyes, “Sorry about that.”

Terry chuckled, “Naw, it’s all good, Mr. Gibson.”

Joe laughed and looked at Max then his granddaughter. “Can I… may I hold her?”

Max nodded, “Of course, grandpa.”

Joe chuckled. He took hold of Grace and looked down at her. He fought back the urge to openly weep. “I’m so sorry for not being there for you, Max.”

Max looked at Joe, surprised.

“I’m sorry for the lousy example I set for you.” Joe looked at Max. “I hope you’ll give me the chance to be the best grandfather to her I can be. I swear to you that I won’t wreck it if you give me a chance.”

“Dad, of course,” Max said. “You didn’t have to ask.”

Joe took hold of Max’s hand. “Yes, I do. And you would’ve had every right to say ‘no.’”

“We wouldn’t want that,” Terry said. “You’re family. You have been for a while now.”

Joe nodded, sniffling as he did so. “I didn’t deserve the chance to be. Thank you both. Thank you for everything.”

* * *

The following day, Mel and Eddy were visiting with Terry and Max while Basem, Sally, Chelsea, and Hayate were present as well. Mel set a bouquet of flowers Max and Terry had received from Alex, Ari, and Lance on a table, “Dad cried again, huh?”

“Yep?” Max asked.

“He did that for you, too?” Sally asked Mel.

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” Mel answered. “The day Lita was born. I’d never seen him like that. Having grandchildren must’ve really hit him hard.”

“That and Bruce’s words at dinner a couple of years ago,” Terry said.

“Oh, I will never forget that night!”

“I’m really sad I missed that,” Chelsea said.

“We can give you a play-by-play,” Sally said. “I replay it in my head all the time.”

“That’s because that was the same night you decided to sleep with Basem,” Max said.

“Oh, shut up!”

“Notice you didn’t say I was wrong.”

Sally blushed and looked away.

Chelsea laughed, “I miss out on all the good stuff.” She looked at Grace. “Well. Not everything.”

“I’ll fill you in, Chelsea, girl,” Sally said. “After all, you’re pretty cool.”

“You used to be jealous of her!” Terry said.

Chelsea looked up, surprised. “Wait, what?”

“You just haaaaaad to bring that up,” Sally said to Terry, “didn’t you?!”

Terry just smiled.

Chelsea looked at Sally, “That’s for real?”

Sally shrugged, “When I came back to Gotham, even before, I could tell that you and Max are tight. Really close. I was a little jealous.”

“Are you kidding?” Chelsea laughed. “Sally, you’re awesome! I couldn’t take your place if I tried! And I never wanted to! You’re Max’s best friend.”

“And so are you! Plus you’re fun and awesome _and_ hot _and_ pretty _and_ … and, as hard I tried, I couldn’t find a flaw in you!”

“You’ve never seen my credit card bills.”

Sally laughed. “But, see, that’s just it? You like fashion and things like that. But you’re not stuck up about it. You’re like Elle Woods in _Legally Blonde_ but even more awesome!”

Chelsea stared at Sally, stunned. “Did you just call me Elle Woods?”

“Yeah, sorry. It was the closest comparison I could make. Plus, it’s, like, one of my favorite movies.”

Chelsea stood up slowly. The biggest smile came over her face. “I love _Legally Blonde_!”

Sally gasped before putting a huge grin on her face. “No way!” she said, excitedly.

“Yeah! I mean, how great is that movie?!”

“So great! It’s, like, the perfect movie!”

“That’s what I tell everyone and no one believes me!”

“Oh, my God!” Max said, throwing her head back against the pillow.

“I think we just saw a brand-new team-up,” Terry said.

“As though we were watching John Wick and James Bond team up,” Hayate said.

“Now, _that_ would be a kickass movie!” Terry said.

“Hell yeah!” Basem agreed.

As they all went into movie talks and possible marathons, Mel went over to her sister and asked, “How long are they going to talk about movies?”

“I don’t know,” Max replied. “How long are they gonna be here?”

* * *

That night, only Sally, Basem, and Hayate were left in the hospital room with Terry and Max. It had been quite an emotional past few days, leaving them physically exhausted though Hayate was still standing tall.

Terry was holding Grace and looked at Hayate, “Are you sure you’ll be okay by yourself again?”

“Worry not, Terry,” Hayate replied. “It’s just another night.”

“Yeah, we thought that when Tumulus showed up. Remember how fun _that_ was?”

“That instance notwithstanding, I’ll be just fine. If anything should come up, I’ll be sure to give you a call.”

Grace began to cry a little.

Hayate smiled, “Besides. It seems you have a far more important mission.”

Terry rocked with Grace slightly, “Well, still… call if you need help.”

“Of course.”

Basem stared at Terry as he held his daughter. In an instant, it really hit Basem all at once everything Terry had gone through the past few months and how he kept his stride the entire time. Tumulus. The Graves. Max. Grace. Basem’s own mood.

And Terry never faltered, never gave up, and never walked away.

Now, Hayate was in a city he didn’t know, fighting battles that weren’t his, all for Terry and Basem.

Basem was almost ashamed of himself for not being ready sooner. But that had to change. It was time for it to change. He knew in his heart he had no right to consider quitting and it should not be a path he should’ve even considered. He had a mission he swore to. He swore to so many, including Marie. He’d been on the sidelines long enough.

Hayate checked his watch. “It’s getting late. I should be heading out.”

“Hayate,” Basem said.

Everyone looked at Basem and they saw a look in his eyes they hadn’t seen in months.

Nightrunner. Full-throttle.

“I’m going with you,” Basem declared.

Everyone smiled and had to keep from cheering out loud. They were so relieved and thrilled to hear those words coming out of his mouth.

“Are you sure you’re up for this?” Hayate asked.

“Absolutely,” Basem replied.

“Hell yeah!” Terry said.

Basem grinned and stood up. “I know you’ve all been patient with me. And thank you. But… I’ve been asking myself if I’m back.” He looked at Grace then at Sally. “Yeah. I’m thinkin’ I’m back.”

“Second best news I’ve heard in the past couple of days!”

“Good to hear,” Max agreed. “I’m so happy I’m gonna let the fact that you quoted _John Wick_ slide.”

Basem chuckled.

“But, seriously, this is great to hear. Gotham’s needs all her heroes.”

“Not just Gotham,” Basem looked at Grace. “If I’m gonna be an uncle, I’m gonna be the best.”

“Matty and Eddy are gonna fight you for that,” Terry reminded.

“I can take ‘em.”

“Are you sure, babe?” Sally asked. “You don’t have to do this… i-if you’re not ready.”

Basem smiled. He walked up to Sally and kissed her, deeply.

Max raised an eyebrow and smirked, “Hey now!”

After the kiss, Basem stared into Sally’s eyes. “I’m ready.”

“Okay,” Sally said, in a pleasurable haze.

“Oh, yeah,” Terry said. “He’s back.”

“Then shall we, my friend?” Hayate asked.

“Let’s do it,” Basem replied.

Terry smiled, “Nightrunner. Welcome back.”

Basem flashed a dangerous smile. “Good to be back.”


	34. Chapter 34

** Chapter 34 **

That night, Bruce was typing at the computer, monitoring Gotham City. He felt a gust of air rush through the cave. “You can never just knock, can you, Clark?” Bruce asked.

Clark appeared behind him in his civilian clothes. He chuckled, “Where’s the fun in that?” He walked over to the computer. He stopped next to Bruce’s chair and stared at the monitors, “It’s not like you ever did.”

“Fair enough. What are you doing here?”

“Came to check on you. See how things were going.”

“It’s been three days, Clark,” Bruce reminded.

“A lot can happen in three days, Bruce,” Clark replied.

“True. But we somehow to get a bit of a relief period after a major event like we just had.”

“True, but the Graves were arrested months ago. Plenty of time for another major event to take place.”

“But another _did_ take place.” Bruce smiled. “Grace was born.”

Clark laughed. “You always have to be right.” He folded his arms, “I told Diana. She said congratulations on being a grandfather.”

“I’ll tell her thank you.”

“You can say it in person. She said she’ll be in Gotham in a few days. She wants to see the baby.”

“Of course, she will, and, of course, she does,” Bruce shook his head.

Clark stared at the screen, “How are the boys doing?”

“Terry’s been doing fine. Hayate has been a great help. Basem just returned to a full schedule, but…” Bruce shrugged, “I have to admit, he seems to be back to his old self.”

“Still worried?”

“I always am.”

Clark stared at Bruce, shocked, “I can’t believe you just admitted that.”

Bruce looked back at the monitor, “What can I say? Being a grandfather affected me, just like it did Joe Gibson.”

Clark smiled. “I’m very proud of Terry. And Max.”

“So am I.”

Clark chuckled, lightly. “I can’t believe it. He managed to be Batman and be married. Now he has a daughter. Never thought I’d see the day.”

“You’re not the only one,” Bruce smiled.

Clark stood quietly for a minute. He was almost afraid to ask this next question but he had to know. “Do you ever think about it? If things had been different?”

Bruce sat in silence for a few minutes. “Impossible not to. He’s married, he just had a child.” He scoffed. “I know my choices led me here, to this cave, alone, but… one can wonder.”

“Yes, one can.” Clark paused. “Wait, I was just assuming, but Terry does know that you’re his…”

“Yes. He found it out, but I told him anyway.”

“Did he talk to Waller?”

“Yes.”

“Glad it didn’t drive a wedge between you.”

Bruce smiled. “You’re not the only one.”

Clark took a deep breath and exhaled. “The world’s different now, Bruce.”

“You have a better view of it than I do.”

“From up there, sure. But down here… I’m not the common people anymore.”

“Then I should start calling you ‘Kal’.”

Clark chuckled. “Well. I guess not. That could get confusing.”

“And dangerous,” Bruce added. “Because if you’re not human, we’re all in trouble. You’re more human than I am, anyway.”

“If that we’re true, you would’ve never let Terry get married.”

“I was never going to stop him. He loves Max.”

“Insane notion, isn’t it? Batman being in love.”

“It has happened before,” Bruce said.

“Yeah, three marriages,” Clark added.

“I keep forgetting you’re the only other one who knows.”

“Not the only one.” Clark stared at Bruce. “You know… Terry’s not the only Batman who can find happiness.”

Bruce shook his head, “I’m not Batman anymore.”

“Yes, you are, Bruce. You always will be.”

“But it’s too late for me. I’ve done far too much. I’m too far gone.”

“No, you’re not. And it’s never too late, Bruce.”

Bruce looked at Clark.

“Never.”

Bruce wanted to come up with a snarky come back or an excuse or a logical argument, but he couldn’t think of anything. At all. He was wondering if Clark was actually right.

Clark could easily see it. Bruce was considering it. That was enough of a victory for him. Clark looked over his shoulder, hearing something in the distance. He looked back at Bruce and patted his best friend’s shoulder, “I’ll be back soon, Bruce. We can talk some more. Take care, my friend.”

Bruce nodded, “You, too.”

Clark was gone in a gust of wind.

Bruce sat back, interlocking his fingers. He knew it was too crazy to consider relationships at this point in life. But life had changed in many good and unexpected ways lately. Terry and Max’s relationship, Basem’s arrival, even Sally was a welcome addition to their family. Maybe life could change even more for the better in the future.

Bruce smiled. When Terry became Batman, the future didn’t seem as grim.

Now, the future looked brighter than it ever had before.

“Perhaps,” Bruce whispered into the darkness of the cave, “the best is still yet to come.”

* * *

Later that night, Basem got home, changed out of his uniform, and put on some sleeping clothes. But he wasn’t tired quite yet. He went to the kitchen to find a light snack. As he walked through his loft, he looked around and remembered how Rene was monitoring his home and his time with Sally. He sat down at the dining room table and rubbed hands across his face. That whole ordeal did take a toll on him.

And he would’ve fallen apart without his friends, his family. His Sally.

Basem looked toward his fridge and saw a picture of him and Sally that she put on the fridge. Even little things like that always brought a smile to his face. He walked to the fridge and stared at the picture for a while.

Basem smiled at the thought of Sally. He knew, in his heart, he didn’t deserve her. But he wanted her. He needed her. Always.

He walked back to his bedroom, retrieved his phone, and called his father.

Bilal answered, “ _Basem?_ ”

“Hello, _Babaan_ ,” Basem replied.

“ _Is everything alright,_ Ibn _?_ ”

“Yes, sir. I, uh… just wanted to talk to you about something. Do you have a minute?”

“ _Of course. What’s on your mind?_ ”

“It’s about me and Sally.”

Bilal paused for a second. “ _You have my undivided attention._ ”

Basem chuckled. “I thought I might.”

* * *

The next morning, Sally woke up and went to the bathroom.

With a very uneasy stomach. As she had for the past five weeks.

She had to vomit a little bit but it wasn’t the worst it had been in the past few days. She washed her face and gargled a bit of mouthwash. Once she was done, she stared at herself in the mirror and wanted to cry.

She took a few breaths to steady herself. “You’re in for it now, girl,” she said to herself. “I hope you’re ready for this.”

* * *

The following evening, Terry was at the vending machine in the hospital getting a soda and some chips. He retrieved his drink when he saw Basem walk up to him.

Terry smiled, “Hey! Haven’t seen or heard from you all day. Where ya been?”

“I had a few errands to run,” Basem answered. “Where’s Sal?”

“With Max.” Terry pointed at the machine, “Thirsty? My treat.”

Basem smiled, “Sure. Do you mind if we talk for a second?”

“Sure,” Terry said. He got Basem a drink and they went and sat in the waiting room.

“How are you doing?” Basem asked.

“I thought you needed to talk?” Terry asked.

“This is talking.”

“B.”

“I do need to talk,” Basem said, “but I want to see how you’re doing first.”

Terry wanted to skip past that and get to Basem’s subject, but he slowly shook his head, “I can’t believe all of this is happening. It’s like a dream that I don’t wanna wake up from, ya know?”

Basem chuckled, “I can imagine.”

“Every time I look at Grace, I… I just can’t believe that beautiful girl is mine.”

“She’s lucky to have amazing parents.”

“And aunts and uncles.”

“I think I lucked out on that, myself.”

Terry chuckled, lightly.

Basem’s grin faded. “Terry, do you really think that life can be… steady? That our lives can be steady?”

Terry stared at Basem for a few seconds and answered as honestly as he could. “No.”

Basem was surprised by Terry’s answer.

“But, who’s life ever is? There’s no such thing as a steady life, B. Not for us and not for anyone. Everyone has something they deal with. We just have a bit more hectic stuff going on. But no one has a completely calm life. ‘Steady’ was made up by sitcoms and dramas. And, with us, steady was never going to be a thing anyway. We don’t do what we do for steady. But, ya know what? Life isn’t meant to be steady. You think it’s gonna be steady with Grace? The older she gets, either me or Max will start to show in that kid, and God help us all if it’s a combination of both of us!”

Basem let out a hearty laugh.

Terry chuckled, “Glad you find it funny!”

“Oh, believe me, I do!”

“The point is… life is always gonna have some kind of mystery or danger to it. Always. You have to make the most of it, regardless. Yeah, it’s a hard life. But, hey! When you try, you can make it a good one, too.”

Basem nodded, slowly. “I’m starting to get back to seeing that.” He took a deep breath, “With that in mind, I wanted to tell you something. Something I’ve been thinking about for a while. It’s… where I’ve been all day.”

Terry looked at Basem, “What’s up?”

* * *

Sally was holding Grace, staring at her face, as she paced by Max’s bed. Despite a smile on Sally’s face, Max could tell Sally was still worrying about something.

“Did Basem ever call you back?” Max asked Sally.

“Yeah, yeah, he did,” Sally snapped out of her stupor. “A couple of times. Said he was fine, but he was just… busy today. Had some things to do. He said he’d be here in a little while.”

“Oh, okay.” Max could hear it in Sally’s voice. There was something still on her mind. “You sure you’re okay?”

Sally nodded. “I’m fine. Just… it’s been a lot, ya know. I mean… I’m glad Basem’s up to being Nightrunner again, but… what if something else happens? Like, what if Rene comes back? What if he’s… worse when he does?”

“We’ll handle it, just like this time.”

“But we barely did.”

“But we did.”

“I guess I’m just freaking out,” Sally admitted.

“It is one of things you do best,” Max smiled.

“Can’t argue with that.” Sally exhaled. “On to more important things, are you okay?”

“That’s not a ‘more important thing’ but I’ll answer because, honestly,” Max laid her head back on the pillow, “I’m still a little tired.” She looked at Grace, “That kid was stubborn as hell.”

Sally giggled. “Does that come from your side or Terry’s?” Grace started to get a little fussy and Sally handed her back to Max.

Max smiled at her daughter, “I wanna say his but then that would be me being stubborn.”

Sally laughed again but then turned serious. “Hey, uh, I really, really, _really_ need to tell you something.”

Max picked her head up and stared at Sally. “That… really, really, _really_ sounds serious.”

“It is.”

* * *

Minutes later, Terry and Basem walked in the room and saw Sally sitting Max’s bed while the ladies were holding hands.

“Hey,” Terry said, getting their attention.

“Hey,” Max greeted, as both ladies wiped fresh tears from their eyes.

“Hey, babe,” Sally said to Basem.

“Hey, love,” Basem replied.

“Everything okay?” Terry asked.

“Yeah,” Max answered. “Just us being emotional. Been a long nine months.”

“And how.”

Basem stared at his girlfriend, “Sally. Can I steal you for a moment?”

“I dunno,” Sally said. “I’m pretty attached to Max.”

“Oh, for the love of God, woman!” Max said. “Get out!”

Sally giggled and looked at Basem, “Sure, babe.” She got up and followed Basem out of the room.

As soon as the door closed, Terry turned quickly toward Max and, enthusiastically, asked, “What were you two actually crying over?”

“Why does B need to talk to Sal, alone?” Max asked, just as excitedly. “And where has he been all day?”

Terry smiled, smugly. “You know something.”

“ _You_ know something!” Max said, matching his expression.

“Wanna say it at the same time?”

“Yes!”

“On three,” Terry said.

Max nodded with a smile.

They both said, simultaneously, “One, two, three!”

* * *

Basem and Sally walked down the hallway, toward a window, looking out over the city.

“What’s up?” Sally asked.

“I wanted to tell you thank you,” Basem said. “For everything you’ve done for me.”

“You’re welcome. No problem. Happy to help. My pleasure. Please-don’t-break-up-with-me!” she blurted out, suddenly, as she started fidgeting with her fingers.

He looked at her, shocked. “Sally, what-what are you talking about?!”

Sally stared at him with her mouth hanging open. “You’re… not breaking up with me?”

“No! That wasn’t even _remotely_ a thought in mind.”

She perked up. “Oh! Oh, schway. I just thought… ya know, I hadn’t seen you all day, you’d been all secretive, and now you wanna talk to me alone in a hospital hallway. Not the most romantic of spots, kinda un-normal.”

“What about us has ever been normal?”

Sally thought about that and laughed. “Okay, yeah. Sorry. I, uh… I’m panicking a little.”

“Why?” Basem asked.

Sally’s mouth hung open then said, “So, yeah. About that. I, uh… I kinda need to talk to you, too.”

Basem was surprised. “Oh.”

“Yeah.”

He nodded, “So, I’m guessing you’re not breaking up with me. I hope.”

She smiled, “Not at all.”

“Okay. Good. Uh, why don’t you go first?”

“No, it’s cool. I already gave you a panic attack. You can go.”

“Well, half of what I wanted to say was ‘thank you,’” Basem said.

“Okay, what’s the other half?” Sally asked.

He thought for a second then said, “I really want you to go first.”

“Are you sure?”

“I really am.”

“Okay,” she took a deep breath. “Can you promise me you don’t want to leave me?”

“I swear it,” he replied.

“Okay.” Sally took hold of his hands and took one more deep breath. She looked up at the ceiling, saying a silent prayer, then looked at Basem. “I’m pregnant.”

Basem blinked a few times as that fully registered to him. His mouth slowly fell open as he tried to talk but no sound was coming out. He cleared his throat and asked, “What?”

“I’m pregnant, babe.” A few tears fell from her eyes. “Five weeks.”

He let out and stunted breath, “Wow.” He took a few seconds to wrap his head around that. “Wow! That-that… wow, that totally topped what I was going to say.”

“Why?”

“Well. I was gonna say that I spoke to my dad last night. And that I called your parents earlier to get their blessing.”

“Their…” she had to swallow as her voice caught. “Their blessing?”

“Yeah. And I was gonna say that they’re actually waiting to go out to dinner with us later. Along with my parents.” He pulled a ring box out of his pocket, “I was gonna say I’ve been gone all day because I was waiting for my parents at the airport because they flew here to bring me my grandmother’s engagement ring.”

Sally couldn’t even form words to speak anymore.

He smiled, opened the ring box, and, while still holding her hand, got down on one knee. “I was gonna say ‘will you marry me?’” He felt a tear coming to his eye. “And I’m really hoping you’ll say yes.”

Sally gasped, starting to cry. “Are you serious?!” she exclaimed. “Yes, you moron! YES! HELL YEAH, I’LL MARRY YOU!” She screamed in delight.

Sally pulled Basem up and wrapped her arms around him, holding him as tightly as possible. She cried into his shoulder while he let a few tears fall as well. They heard clapping and looked up to see the present hospital staff giving them a round of applause. Laughing, they broke the hug and Basem slipped the ring on Sally’s ring finger.

“This is really happening isn’t it?” she asked.

“You better believe it,” he answered.

Sally smiled ear to ear as she gazed at the ring. It was a silver band with diamonds on the side and an amethyst in the middle. “It’s beautiful.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

“I love it.” She looked at him, “I love you a little more.”

He laughed. “I’ll take a little. It is a nice ring.”

She laughed and hugged him again. He hugged her back, letting out a relieved exhale.

“Did you tell Terry you were proposing?” Sally asked.

“Did you tell Max you were pregnant?” Basem asked.

Sally giggled. “Do you think Max told Terry?”

“If they didn’t hear the entire hospital clapping for us. But I’m more than positive they told each other exactly what we told them the second we left the room.”

“They’re going to make terrible godparents,” Sally said.

Basem chuckled, “The worst.”

* * *

Basem and Sally walked back to Max’s room and Terry stood up, immediately. “Well?!” Terry asked, excitedly.

“I’m pregnant,” Sally said, smiling.

“And she said yes,” Basem finished, also grinning widely.

Terry threw a triumphant fist in the air, letting out a lot of hushed cheers as to not disturb the rest of the hospital. Max covered her mouth to keep from crying aloud and screaming. Sally walked over to Max and hugged her while Terry hugged Basem. They all stopped and looked at each other.

Terry had his arm around Basem and asked, “So, how’s life looking now?”

Basem chuckled. “Challenging but good.”

“Works for me,” Sally said.

“Ditto,” Max agreed.

“Just remember,” Terry said. “We’re all in it together.”

They all smiled and nodded in agreement.

“No matter how difficult it gets, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Because this…” Terry motioned to all of them, “ _this_ makes it a good life.”


	35. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Two last little Easter eggs: there's a line from the Batman graphic novel, "The Dark Knight Returns". Can you find it?  
> Also, Terry has some words here that are directly inspired by the movie "42". Rest in peace, Chadwick Boseman. Rest in Peace, Jackie Robinson.

** Epilogue **

Terry was sitting up late one night, staring at a blank television screen, letting his mind wander. One week had passed since Basem and Sally got engaged and five days since Terry and Max were discharged were from the hospital and took Grace home. Terry was about to head out on patrol, but something told him to just take a second to have a seat. He reflected on everything that had happened since Max first became pregnant. All the good, all the bad, all the ugly.

He thought about what he told Basem, about how things are and that, despite everything, this was still a pretty good life. Good enough, as he once heard Bruce put it. He got up and walked upstairs and into Grace’s room, staring at her as she slept. He thought he’d never witness a sight as amazing as Max in her wedding dress. He’d never been so happy to be so wrong.

He could never walk away. That’s what this told him. No matter how hard it was. No matter how difficult the road ahead would be, he would always fight for it all. All he had was worth fighting for. It was worth holding on to.

“You’re going to go through a lot, Grace,” Terry whispered. “Hopefully, never as much as me or your uncle Basem have gone through, but you’ll go through plenty. I wish I could protect you from all of it, but, I learned the hard way, I won’t be able to. All the time, anyway. But just like Basem and I have, you’re going to know your father is there for you every day. No matter what. I’m going to be there for you and your mother until the day I die.”

He checked his phone to see Bruce was calling. He looked at Grace. “I’ll be back, baby girl. Count on that. You can count on me. Always.” He headed out of the room and rushed to change into his uniform to continue his mission of guarding his city, his home.

* * *

**_The Slabside Island Maximum Security Prison._ **

Thalia was questioned by many government entities about the Moirai and her role in the group. Sadly, not even Waller could get any information out of her. But, as always, Waller had a back-up plan. She had Thalia sent to one of the strongest, most remote prisons on Earth: the Slabside Island Maximum Security Prison in Antarctica. Waller deduced that either she would get Thalia to talk later or someone might try to break her out. Either action would give Waller plenty of information.

Thalia was sitting in her prison cell when her lights started to flicker. She looked around, concerned, as she rose to her feet. She looked down the hallway, nervously, as the lights started to flicker all over the prison. Suddenly, all the lights turned off.

Thalia gasped and backed away from her cell door.

“You failed me, Thalia,” a sultry, female voice said, coming from behind her.

Thalia froze, instantly. She started to hyperventilate but got control of herself. “For-forgive me, my-my queen,” she said, her voice full of fear. “T-Tumulus failed. His plan… it was so…”

“ _You_ were to kill Batman. _You_ were to ensure the death of Nightrunner. Now, they are stronger than ever. Their very existence is a threat to everything we wish to achieve, to our destiny. You were to remove them from our path. You have failed.”

“Please forgive me. I live to serve the Moirai.”

“Yes, you do.” The woman put her hands on Thalia’s shoulders. “You will sit in this cell.” She moved her hands up to Thalia’s neck, causing Thalia to seize up even more. “You will make no attempt to escape. You will behave yourself. When it is time, _perhaps_ , I will come for you.”

“Y-Yes, m-m-my queen,” Thalia replied.

“Praise to the Moirai,” the woman declared.

“Praise to you, my queen. May you live forever.”

“Forever, the Moirai shall reign,” they said, simultaneously.

The lights came back on and Thalia gasped. She turned to see her queen was gone. Thalia sank to her knees, grateful to be alive. She would follow her queen’s orders. Their victory would come in time. It was their destiny.

And no one would stop them.


	36. Special Thanks

** Special Thanks **

**A/N: And that is the end of our tale. Wow. So much has happened in my life since I started this series. So much has happened just since I started “Good Life.” Things I never would’ve dreamed would happened. Some bad, some good. Just goes to show you how much life can change in just three years. I started this series in 2015 and, now, here are in 2018. Amazing.**

**I’ll be posting the series “Unpack Your Heart Chronicles” very soon. There are a lot of scenarios that I alluded to in the trilogy that I want to expand upon but those will be further down the line and some of the stories will feed into the future stories.**

**At one time, I only had one more chapter story planned for this series but now I have two. The next will be up hopefully a little later this year. I can’t give away too many details, but I can say it involves the Moirai and many people from Bruce’s life getting involved. The idea for this, like the Moirai themselves, is very much inspired by The Bloody Red Lantern on FanFic. Go give those stories a read when you can.**

**I still might do another _Batman Beyond_ story that follows after “City Fall” (also on FanFic, but I might move it over here someday) but that’s not a guarantee on the sequel. Only time will tell what the future holds there.**

**I want to send out a HUGE thanks to chocolate1 (a FanFic reviewer) for requesting and inspiring me to do this series. chocolate1 made one suggestion and this was the fruit that came from it. And I loved every second of it. Thanks, chocolate1. I think I needed this story even more than people wanted me to write it. I want to also thank Kyoko Kasshu Minamino, who inspired me to start _Batman Beyond_ stories, and for her constant support and mentorship ever since. You can find her own novels under the name Kyoko M. I also want and need to thank my friends, RyokoMist and Watership’s Nightwish Rat, for their inspiration and constant support. There are so many more who were constant reviewers and thank you all for that. Those reviews meant the world to me. Last but certainly not least, I want to thank each and every one of you. Whether you’re reading this long after the fact or you’ve been with me since day one, I really want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the reviews and the favorites and the follows and the kudos and everything else. They mean more to me than you realize.**

**The last thing to talk about is I have a book available for purchase. _Tatsu Angelo: Ronin Days_ is available on Amazon. Also, keep an eye on my Twitter, RavenTW2, and my Facebook pages, T2 Angel Host of Dreams and T.B Wesley II, for all of the information on my book and my writings. **

**Thank you all again. I couldn’t have done this without all of you and your support. You encouraged me, you inspired me, and you made me want to write the best story I could. This was so much fun to write. I loved these characters and going on this journey with them and with all of you. Thank you, guys, for everything. Take care of yourselves. Be blessed and stay blessed. See you guys in the future. Someday, somewhere. I love you, guys. You all rock!**

**Ta-ta for now.**

**Yours truly,**

**All my love and respect,**

**RavenT2**


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